


There's time to kill

by pad_f_creme



Category: Original Work
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Mob, Angst, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Corruption, Crimes & Criminals, Death, Drug Dealing, Drug Use, Drugs, Explicit Language, Gangs, Human Trafficking, Illegal Activities, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Manipulation, Money, Morally Ambiguous Character, Multi, Murder, No Romance, Organized Crime, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Rivalry, Slow Burn, Strong Female Characters, Strong Language, Unhealthy Relationships, Violence, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:02:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 31,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24660502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pad_f_creme/pseuds/pad_f_creme
Summary: Salicia was tied to the bottom, her options are limited and her survival is her main goal. Like the majority of people like her, she has to turn to things which a little illegal. Drug running may be illegal but there was much worse and Salicia wanted to turn a blind eye from it. However when she becomes intertwined with something more dangerous, maybe surviving was harder than she first thought. Salicia finds herself much deeper than she thought she'd ever venture, with people she never thought she'd meet. With time and temptation some things are unavoidable.Capitalism sure is cruel.
Kudos: 2





	1. Running Til Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> pad_f_creme is a random project me and my friends made where we just have fun, write and create stories and characters in alternate universes that interest us! (Hey friends, see I posted this for fun lol) The story is FICTION and all the characters are FICTIONAL and created by me and my friends. We've made these original characters which are featured in this work and others. My friends and me have contributed into making this story, the characters and world. However I'm the primary writer of this Mafia AU. Hello I'm Midnight the writer of this story! (Is anyone other than my friends even gonna read this idek)
> 
> To my friends please enjoy the story! I hope you like how I wrote your characters etc.
> 
> Also I'm not a professional writer or anything like that.  
> Also disclaimer about this story: I'm not really a big romance person so if you're looking for anything like that this story will not be for you. I also chose not to use archive warnings because I don't like giving spoilers. Updates will also be inconsistent as I like writing at my own pace, sorry!  
> Anyways congratulations you made it to the end of the notes! (Sorry it's so long, this will only be here once dw).

“Here.”

  


A wad of cash was shoved into Salicia’s hand. She didn’t respond as the man hastily picked up the brown paper bag and walked away not even sparing a glance at her. The wad of cash felt weighty in her hand but the inevitability that most of it would be gone before she could even spend it weighed heavy on her mind. Absentmindedly, she packed up the cash into her tattered black backpack along with the other bills she had gotten already. Checking her watch -second-hand and cracked obviously, as if she could afford anything pristine- she sighed and sat on the curb to take a break. With nothing else to do she watched the man she just exchanged with get into his slick grey mercedes. Spite bubbles under Salicia’s veins -of course- it’s always the rich ones that get what they want and never get caught. However, Salicia preferred the well-off clients over the doped up poor ones. It was always easier to deal with the richies than the junkies, less threatening and it was a bonus that they never hung around for long, sometimes the transactions were completely silent. Still, it felt like life slapping her in the face whenever she saw them in their slick newly ironed suits, wrists decked out with a rolex and top class cars. That and the fact that if they were ever caught they could worm their way out the law with cash whilst she gets thrown behind like an abandoned dog into jail. 

  


Capitalism sure is cruel.

  


Some time passed that the sky started to turn a shade of sour orange, with only one drop off left for 8PM Salicia decided she’d rather be early than late. With a tired sigh, she got off her makeshift resting area -a crappy curb next to the gas station- to make her way to Knightsbridge already dreading her next drop off. Knowing the high end area would most likely reside the wealthier class she hoped that the day would end without trouble. The steps were like this: 1) Do the drop off (without trouble of course), 2) Run back to base and get paid, 3) Buy food (hopefully the supermarkets would still be open by the time she’s done), 4) Go home and 5) Finally fucking sleep - unless the gang fuck her over by giving her the morning clients. Again.

  


Though, the prospect of going home to see her family was enough to get her sprinting down the street.

  


~

  


Shouting and heavy music blared like a cacophony throughout the yard. Salicia grimaced at the plethora of cars lined up like dominos down the street. The house- No. The _mansion_ was the only living space on the street surprisingly. The rest of the street was just pavement and road, the mansion was strangely secluded. Or maybe Salicia was too benighted to know any better about this part of the city. Nevertheless it was still strange that the drop off was here, in a place which resided more than a few witnesses for the trade off. Damn parties. _Great._ Who wouldn’t want a few lines of crack at a party? Alcohol. _Check._ Music. _Check._ Girls. _Check._ Cocaine. _Check._

On edge Salicia reluctantly tugged the hood of her hoodie over her head and entered the steel gate to the mansion.

  


The second she opened the door the music hit her ten times louder, ears ringing from the invasion of sounds. Desperate to finish the job as quickly as she could she looked around to find the trade off location. She had remembered the location: _Evergreen Mansion - first floor living room - Nathan: Black haired, tall, 18-24 - Snow at 8PM._ A living room, the ideal location for a drug exchange. Salicia couldn’t help but think that that could be the most stupid location ever. But there was nothing she could do about it; she was just the underpaid drug runner after all. 

  


Unexpectedly the interior was much cleaner than she thought. There weren’t any bottles or cups or much of anything on the floor of the entrance. What occupied the marble flooring was a long lavish carpet that stretched into the corridor. Walls lined with art encased in matte black frames upon immaculate white wallpaper. Salicia’s eyes lingered on the pieces as she passed by them to the living room which was most likely at the end of the corridor. The source of the music and faint stench of cigarette smoke seemed to stem from there like a gas bomb.

  


As Salicia neared the double doors at the end of the corridor they swiftly opened. A boy, tall with strands of thick gelled black hair framed the sides of his face was revealed. _That’s the guy, well, boy._ His eyes immediately locked onto Salicia. He didn’t seem too threatening, his eyes just simply analysed her with a sort of nonchalant air. His eyes scanned the rest of her, narrowing slightly at the sight of her ragged clothes, Salicia didn’t miss noticing the rings adorning his fingers nor the lip piercing which carried a shiny silver hoop. The air wafting from the door was laced with the smell of cigarettes and alcohol; clamorous talking and loud dance music escaped from inside. 

  


“What the hell are you doing?” A female voice rang from inside beneath the music. 

  


“Nothing,” he replied before closing the door and walking past her. “Come with me.” He didn’t look back, simply doing a vague hand gesture beckoning her to follow as if she were a dog.

  


Salicia swallowed her distaste and followed after him. He led her out the corridor, turning left into a massive island kitchen. Salicia couldn’t help but stared at it in awe. 

  


“You have the stuff?” He finally looked over at her holding out an open hand waiting expectantly. 

  


“You Nathan?” Salicia asked first; a habit she started doing after she traded with the wrong person which left her hungry for a week.

  


He scoffed, “Obviously, you dumb or somethin’? Now just gimme my stuff, I have a party to get back too.”

  


“I-I need to see the money first,” She replied, trying her hardest to mask her annoyance. Why the hell is he being so fucking difficult?

  


“How about you give me what I ordered first girlie?” He bit back, gritting his teeth. 

  


“No, I need evidence of payment first,”

  


He took a threatening step closer, “What makes you think that I’m gonna pay some lowlife like you?” he snarled, his words spilled like punches.

  


“If-”

  


_Slam!_ The boom of the opening doors interrupted her. “Yo! Nath! Where are you?” Followed by a tumble of chit-chat and thundering footsteps.

  


“Here!” 

  


Salicia’s eyes widened in surprise. Why the hell does he want other people to come here? _Shit._ Drug runs were supposed to be quick and secluded, not to be witnessed by unwarranted bystanders. The chances of her being exposed increased dramatically and she didn’t want to go to prison at 18 dammit.

  


Noticing her alarm, Nathan smirked. His lips being pulled unnaturally to the side contorting his face. He knew what he was doing, and he seemed to be having fun toying with her. As expected a crowd of people came storming in, Salicia was on red alert immediately. Her eyes scanned for her escape route as her hand tightened on her backpack. She had never been in this situation before, She’d never been cornered like this or even threatened. Nobody was that cocky and stupid. 

  


“Hey Nathan! Long time no see dude, hope you’re ready to party tonight,” some guy’s voice greeted alongside a million other greetings. Nathan was definitely well known.

  


Nathan turned to converse with his guests; they all looked like young adults, decked out with high end clothes (though Salicia would never understand the appeal of buying a plain white shirt for fifty times the price) and perfectly styled hair. A hurricane of exchanges of alcohol, gifts and other knick knacks, Salicia sensed her escape route. As if she was going to stay here, at that moment she’d decided it was better to deal with the repercussions of one uncompleted job than face a rowdy group of bratty millennials. (She may be a millennial but she was not bratty). 

  


She quietly tugged her hood so it obscured almost all her face and nimbly edged her way through the crowd towards the door, hunching into herself to make her seem small like a rat. The group of partiers seemed occupied with the atmosphere, multiple people were talking all at once, music started booming loudly probably from someone’s bluetooth speaker and others were hustling around the kitchen island for alcohol. The flow of people was increasing as Salicia shuffled to the exit. The once calmer air was now replaced with a more hectic fog. She must have arrived before the party started. No wonder it was so clean and somewhat pleasant earlier (excluding the dreadful music of course).

  


Salicia neared the door. 

  


Before Salicia could step through she’s yanked back by her backpack, ripping the -already damaged- left strap of the bag, causing her to go plunging backward first to the floor.

  


“Bitch, don’t you dare fucking leave before giving me what I ordered,” Nathan hissed as Salicia groaned at the pain of landing unceremoniously on her ass on a hard marble floor. Still mildly blinded by the ache ebbing from her behind she doesn’t fully comprehend the fact that she’d been caught escaping from the exchange. She pursed her lips in pain and suddenly registered tugging on her backpack. Immediately she gripped onto the bag refusing to let go.

  


She gritted her teeth and finally let some of her annoyance bubble through her; the pain from falling blinding her judgement also. “Give me the fucking money before you get what you want shithead.” 

  


“What did you just call me?” He suddenly stopped his tugging, glaring at her. Salicia took the chance to get up, regretting what she said.

  


“I said-” She stopped herself upon realising the audience around her. The eyes of the onlookers sent chills down Salicia’s spine; the fact that they seemed to have increased didn’t help. Somebody obviously thought the trashing of a drug runner would be a riveting spectacle. 

  


“You have one last chance, girl.” He took a step closer whilst Salicia took a cautious step back noticing his balled fist. She regretted letting her anger flow out so carelessly. He extended an open hand again expecting her to just give him the coke without payment. Once again Salicia took another step back. 

  


She hit the wall. 

  


Dread settled heavily on her. Salicia tightened the grip on her backpack like a frightened child holding a teddy bear, so hard she could feel the outlines of the bundled cash inside. She’d never encountered anything like this in all her three years -almost four- of drug running. Sure, she’s had difficult clients but most of the time they were able to talk it out. Never. _Never._ Has she actually gotten hurt. The greatest threat for her was usually getting caught by the police. Her heart frantically beated faster. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t afford to not complete the job tonight, having her pay get cut again would be detrimental to her family right now. The boss wouldn’t give her the benefit of the doubt - she was just another insignificant underling in the grand scheme of things.

  


Vaguely as she thought she heard the chanting of: “Fight! Fight! Fight!”, “Come on girl, show us whatcha got!”, “Beat the shit out of that scum!”, “Hey! Come have a look at this!”

  


She had two options. A) She puts up a fight and demands for the money. (Except the obvious fact that she has never punched a person in her life, and even if she did fight back what were the chances of this spoilt brat giving her anything in return?) Or B) She gives him the shit and has a higher chance of walking free unscaved. 

  


Right now, both options left her empty handed like a poor beggar. However keeping her face intact was much more appealing in the long run.

  


A hand caught the neck of her hoodie pulling her forward, digging the material into her skin. “You have five seconds girl,” She could hear his seething words unnaturally close to her ear; his breath harshly hitting her skin sent chills down her neck. The mantra of “Fight! Fight! Fight!” melded together like a thick miasma. _Fuck._ Salicia could feel the build up of tears at the back of her eyes, from fear or humiliation, she didn’t know. 

  


Cowardly -her previous defiance replaced by fear- opening her backpack, Nathan’s darkened face overshadowing her, she conjured the bag of coke and shoved it into Nathan’s chest. It was with enough force to push him out of her personal bubble. Salicia wanted to at least gain some measly leftovers of her dignity dammit. 

  


Nathan takes the bag, inspects it carefully and turns to the crowd, “Guess the bitch knows her place; we got the good shit guys.”

  


The cheering dies down and is replaced by an air of disappointment. Salicia let the humiliation wash over her like cold water. “What a shitshow man”, “Weak fucker”, “That scum shouldn’t even be here”, “What the hell is she even wearing”. Demoralising was what it was. Even though Salicia has lived as what most people would call ‘scum’ for most of her life, you’d expect that she’d have a tougher skin by now. However this wasn’t the case; Salicia tried her hardest to rub the tears out her eyes, a few escaped either way. Salicia knew that she’d always been weak. _She is weak._

  


She almost forgot that she was still knee deep at some random pompous ass’s house -who goes by the name of Nathan- in the middle of some fancy marble kitchen in the throes of a party. Until Nathan’s hand promptly pushes her shoulder snapping her out of her daze, “Now get the fuck out my house, bitch.”

  


Salicia happily obliged.

  


Hurriedly, she scampered her way through the crowd not wanting to waste anymore time looking at Nathan’s irritating face. Her eyes still stung from the effort of bottling up her tears, which still inevitably escaped. Upon, -finally- escaping the kitchen the hallway was completely transformed. The floor was littered with plastic cups, paper, cigarette butts and other trash. Salicia’s senses recoiled at the pungent reek of pot and alcohol which flowed through the hallway like water in a river. The once untarnished carpet was now crumpled and stained, the music was still as loud as ever but the number of drunk teenagers has undoubtedly tripled since she had arrived. 

  


An uneasiness grew through Salicia’s body as she hauled her backpack onto her shoulder - with only one usable strap left which was also nearing the end of its lifespan. The fact that she’d gotten nothing in return for the goods would screw her over tonight. She dreaded going back to the base and having her pay cut with a side dish of reprimanding in the form of shouting about her repeated failures. It was not something she was looking forward to. Also, the week of near starvation that would follow wasn’t something she was particularly thrilled about either. Another thought itched at the back of her mind: the fact that she might be kicked out this time. If that happened then what was she going to do? It seemed like life really wanted her to suffer. Just thinking about it made Salicia want ro cry all over again.

  


Not wanting to get noticed or caught by any of the onlookers from her terrifying encounter she marched -almost running- through the hallway towards the opened doors. Currently those doors called out to her like the gates to heaven. Before Salicia could cross the threshold a hand latched onto her arm pulling her aside. Salicia’s heart leaped to her throat expecting to see Nathan or one of the previous spectators of her humiliation coming back to actually beat her to hell.

  


Unexpectedly, her eyes met the face of a woman with straight coal black hair which cascaded down just below her shoulders. Salicia stared in shock at the woman who remained unfazed by her dumbfounded expression. 

  


“Come with me,” she stated lightly pulling at Salicia’s elbow urging her to follow, snapping Salicia’s trance of staring at the mysterious woman like a surprised cat.

  


Salicia’s feet started to move following the woman with only slight resistance. Maybe it was from fear or fascination that led to Salicia obediently following the woman. She didn’t seem threatening, even though the only thing she’d said to her was the command to follow her. In contrast to Nathan’s demeaning tone from earlier, the words that left the woman’s lips were much softer; the command sounding more like an offering. Another detail was the woman’s choice of outfit. Unlike the typical shorts, skirts and crop tops (which revealed too much skin) that adorned most of the female partiers, the woman’s outfit was much more conservative. She sported a black low v-neck button up shirt half tucked into a pair of ripped black skinny jeans which didn’t reveal half her ass like those dreadful shorts and skirts Salicia saw earlier. She was still clearly wealthy, the accent of her small silver hoop earrings and opulent velvet ankle boots accentuated the air of luxury around her. 

  


Salicia was led up the staircase and entered the second floor which seemed to be relatively untouched by the roaring party below. The interior’s style was still the same minimalist white; the walls were covered with the same identical wallpaper as the one downstairs. The only difference was that instead of the hardwood flooring a light grey berber carpet cushioned her feet. Other than that the second floor seemed fairly similar to downstairs - lush and luxurious and high end. Salicia stared at her surroundings in envy, especially when she passed any decorations and art pieces that hung like trophies on the walls. 

  


The woman walked purposefully as if she was well acquainted with the mansion, her steps were steady and strong as Salicia followed to god knows where. She could be leading her to her death for all she knows but it was too late to back out now. 

  


After what seemed like an eternity, what was actually not even up to a minute of walking, they arrived at an innocuous white wooden door. Salicia’s hands started to tremble in anticipation. _What did this woman want with her?_ Her thoughts were wild: was she going to murder her? Drug her? Kidnap her? Salicia didn’t realise she had spaced out until the woman tapped her on her temple lightly.

  


“Relax, I’m not going to hurt you.” All Salicia could do to respond through her fumbling thoughts was stare at her, which really wasn’t a response at all. The woman, unfazed by her clumsy social skills, smiled a little, the edges of her rosy lips tugging up only slightly.

  


She turned to the door, knocked then immediately entered.

  


“What took you so long, idiot? I was getting really bored.” Another female’s voice, clearly annoyed, sounded as the woman opened the door.

  


“I found a guest.” The woman responded -seemingly ignoring the irritated tone- opening the door wider to reveal Salicia, who was cowering behind her. 

  


Salicia locked eyes with another woman lounging on a bed. She laid flat on her back with a phone in her hand, her head tilted to inspect the guest. She seemed very relaxed, totally unaffected by Salicia’s presence. Dark curly brown hair laid disorderly on the bed attached to a full cheeked face dusted with natural pink blush. It made her look young like a child, however her bored dark hazel eyes which held Salicia’s was off putting. Her attire consisted of an oversized white graphic t-shirt -some messy abstract painting- encasing her upper body and a pair of shorts. She looked more prepared for a movie night at home rather than a party. She switched her focus back to her phone and began to type not sparing Salicia another glance. 

  


“Come in, don’t just stand there. I promise I just want to help you,” the woman welcomed her into the random bedroom. Salicia stepped in without resistance and the woman closed the door firmly behind her. At the click of the door Salicia stiffened. 

  


She was truly trapped.

  


The music was much more muted but the vibrations still thrummed like a heartbeat through the floor and walls. Salicia’s limbs were stiff and locked from uncertainty. Awkwardly she stood in the middle of the room trying to focus on her surroundings rather than the living breathing humans around her. The woman on the bed was still focused on her phone completely ignoring her existence. The bedroom was particularly under furnished (obvious that it was just a spare). The walls were plain white, the bed, wardrobe, desk and drawers were bare, absent of any belongings.

  


The woman who had led her here was rummaging in her bag behind her. It was a black leather crossbody bag. It was obvious that the woman had a certain affinity for the colour black. The bag was bigger than most women's bags so Salicia assumed it was a men’s bag. It was strange that someone would bring something so bulky but she wasn’t one to judge people’s luxury bag preferences whilst she herself sported a ratty old backpack probably manufactured back in the 1990s.

  


Suddenly, she stood up and revealed a hefty stack of cash. Salicia’s eyes widened at the sight. 

  


“Here,” the woman offered the cash to her. 

  


Salicia was left stunned, undoubtedly staring at her with a gaping expression. Her arm wouldn’t move paralysed to her side. _No way. She wouldn’t just give me it._ Salicia wasn’t sure whether to be happy or scared or skeptical. 

  


“Don’t you want it?” the words were sharp and pointed, it was posed as a question but it was more to snap Salicia out of her hurricaning thoughts.

  


“I-” Salicia was sure that there was something else this woman wanted from her. She knows from experience that nothing was ever given for free. On top of that she’s never even seen this woman before why the hell should she trust her. “Why?”

  


The woman tilts her head in mock confusion with an arched eyebrow. “I was there earlier, downstairs in the kitchen.” Salicia’s breath got caught in her throat. “You were really cornered back there. You seemed to really be in trouble, I figured you’d need the payment, no?”

  


“I- No- I mean, yes I do.” Salicia stumbled through her words, shocked that this woman wanted to help her seemingly without anything in return. It made her rigid and uneasy. She decided she’d rather question her motives than blindly accept or decline. “But who says you don’t want anything in return?”

  


“Ah, that’s why you’re so scared, “ her shoulders did a big shrug in what seemed to be relief. “Trust me, I don’t want anything back from you, I just want to help even though it may be suspicious.”

  


“I still don’t trust you.”

  


“Hm. What about this, I give you this money and I give you a job?”

  


“What?” At that Salicia was yet again stunned.

  


“I don’t mean anything unlawful. I mean working for my company. You can pay me back by working for me.”

  


“Why the hell would you employ someone like me?”

  


“Because it seems like you need a proper source of income which doesn’t involve a bag full of drugs.”

  


Salicia didn’t know whether to feel offended or hopeful at the woman’s words. But one thought rose against the rest: could she trust this woman? Yes a proper job seemed very promising it meant almost a turn around in her life. But it didn’t stop the fear of getting used then backstabbed by this woman who’d she just met and witnessed her public humiliation. “How can I trust you?”

  


The woman sighed in slight frustration. “Let me introduce myself then. I’m Jinny, I work for the company MX.” She stretches out a hand for Salicia to shake. She takes it. “And you are?”

  


“Salicia.”

  


“Okay then Salicia. I’m offering you a job opportunity and believe me this is no hoax. I truly do want to help you.”

  


“Sure,” it came out a little harsher than she wanted but Salicia didn’t let up on her skepticism,

  


“First off please accept this,” Jinny once again offers her the stack of cash. Despite Salicia’s suspicion, this time she takes it with a shaky hand. The weight of the cash felt heavy in her hand. “Secondly, my company is actually doing a project to offer jobs to the unemployed between the ages of 18-25 with lower economic status. This is the other reason I’m asking you to work for me.” She turns and goes back to her bag. She pulls out a card and hands it to Salicia. “You don’t have to accept of course. You can keep the cash and completely forget this ever happened if you wanted. But think about it, ‘kay? When you’ve decided you can call me with the number on the back of the card.” Jinny hands Salicias a black business card.

  


Salicia takes the card bewildered. She was grateful. So, so grateful that she was helping her. _Hell_ , she was even offering her a job for god’s sake and she didn’t even have to accept if she didn’t want to. She pocketed the card into her hoodies pocket.

  


“Okay,” it was the only word that made its way out of Salicia’s constricted throat. 

  


“No problem!” Jinny said, a full smile revealing itself on her face, It made her face brighter even though her eyes and hair were still the impenetrable shade of coal.

  


Salicia once again felt the pressure on tears building in her eyes like a tidal wave. She wanted to express her gratitude somehow but she was completely blank. She must had look pretty stupid standing teary and dumbfounded in the middle of the room.

  


“You should get going.” It wasn’t Jinny’s voice, but the other woman’s. Salicia flinched in surprise; she had completely forgotten the presence of the woman on the bed, too caught up in her thoughts. She turned to see the woman still occupied on her phone. She didn’t even look at her as if she wasn’t worth her time.

  


“Don’t be so rude,” Jinny reprimanded. “However, I do think you should probably get going before it gets too heated down there, they’ve probably already had a crack at what you gave them.”

  


“Yes, yes, I’ll get going now,” Salicia agrees and turns to leave. As she opens the door, she stops, turns and bows. “I- Thank you so much. I don’t know what else to say but really. Thank you.” After that she immediately bolted out the door, it may have been rude but Salicia was too embarrassed and euphoric to hear her response. 

  


A tear or two slipped down her face as she rushed out, roughly wiping them away with her sleeve. She stuffed the stack of cash in her backpack as she descended down the stairs. The cocktail of sweat, marihuana and alcohol made her dizzy, the air was alive with the buzz of the party. Salicia hastened her steps and worked her way out the mansion. Heart rapidly beating from the mixture of running and glee and relief. She exited the doors and took a deep breath of fresh night air. It felt as cool as ice water flowing into her lungs. She felt like she’d just escaped from hell.

  


She was still unsure about the job offering but she was relieved at the fact that she’d had all the money, enough to get paid tonight from the boss. She sprinted down the streets; the mansion forgotten behind her and revelled in the feeling of the chilly night air. She let a smile break its way onto her face. She felt the card's smooth surface with her fingers as she ran.

  


~

  


“Why’d you help her?” the woman asks, eyes still focused on her phone.

  


“She looked like she needed it.” Jinny responded, zipping up her bag and shoving it beneath the bed.

  


“You expect me to believe that you helped her out of the nonexistent goodness of your heart?” the women snorted humorously.

  


“Can’t I have a little fun?” Jinny stretched and sat down on the floor near the bed. “Anyways, it's obvious she’s a runner for the Reds and you know which way the money flows. So in the long run I just made sure it's flowing the right direction.”

  


“One payment isn’t gonna do much and you know that.” This time she turned onto her side, looking straight at Jinny.

  


“Again, I’m just trying to have a little fun. Stop being so rude, Sima,” Jinny turned and flicked her finger on Sima’s cheek in annoyance. It left a small red mark.

  


“Whatever.” Sima muttered under breath turning back to her phone. “You gonna fuck with her?”

  


“In what way?”

  


“Knowing you, in both ways.”

  


“Figuratively? Haven’t I already. Literally? Hell no. We’ll see how it goes,” Jinny checked her phone quickly, responding to a few texts and checking the time. It was eight fifty-five. 

  


“You think she’s gonna call?” Sima asked, curious. She stretched her arms, her bones cracking against each other.

  


“Probably, you saw her. She’s desperate.”

  


“What’s gonna happen with this one?”

  


“Dunno yet. But, doesn’t she look so nice?”

  


“Nice in your terms isn’t exactly good. The last time someone seemed nice to you it didn’t exactly end well.”

  


Jinny laughed at that, the noise escaping her lips vivid and loud as she recalled the memory. “True, that one was weak as fuck though. This time she seems more promising, The innocent ones are the best, quick to get hopeful and eventually they’ll succumb to what they want.”

  


“Kinky.”

  


“That’s rich coming from you.” Sima rolled her eyes at that.

  


“Anyone catch your eye?” Jinny asked, turning round and resting her head on her arms as she looked over at Sima. Her hair was still a mess on the bed, she had always been so lazy to comb it saying it was too much of a hassle. 

  


“In my opinion they all look fucked but any of them are fine contenders.”

  


“You just have shit taste in looks.” Jinny grinned back at her.

  


“Well, plot twist I ain’t the one who gets off her control complex.”

  


“I would be careful with my choice of words if I were you.”

  


“Whatcha’ gonna do? Kill me?”

  


“Nah, I’d rather waterboard you first.”

  


“I’ll be looking forward to it.” 

  


“Manic fucker,” Jinny got up from her spot on the floor and peered over at Sima’s phone. “You done yet?”

  


“I’ve been done for ages, this party’s just shit.” She remarked as she closed the phone and pocketed it into her shorts. She swung her legs off the bed; the sheets were left creased behind her.

  


“Wanna do a few lines then?”

  


“I thought you said you were going on a detox?”

  


“Fuck it, it can start tomorrow.” Jinny opened the door which caused the smell of the party to invade the once clean room. 

  


“Don’t you have a meeting tomorrow?” Sima reminded, her angled eyebrow arched.

  


They both made their way downstairs. The chaos of the sea of bodies, music and intoxication didn’t faze either of the women. 

  


“A little bit of coke ain’t gonna do much. Who do you take me for?

  


“Sure then why not, something’s gotta make this fun. But don’t blame me if Mr Dead Face scolds you tomorrow.”

  


“He’d beat the shit out of you if he heard that.”

  


“Do you expect me to believe that his wrinklyass hand can throw a punch?” She spitted out, words sharp even though she was joking.

  


Jinny laughed at Sima’s disgusted look but it was drowned out by the music. Suddenly a hand wrapped around her wrist. Jinny meets the eyes of the oh so familiar Nathan. He planted a kiss on her cheek as a greeting. His breath smelt of whisky.

  


“Where have you been?” He asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Sima watched and tried her best to hide her laughter.

  


“Just around, you still have a few lines left?” Jinny ignored Sima’s obvious grinning in the background. The only reason they were here in the first place was the fact that Jinny was able to worm her way into people’s desires at ease. Nathan was no different. She wasn’t attracted to him at all, his looks were fine but that was never her cup of tea. What she liked was averse to most people.

Though a quick hook up was worth the exchange of having a little fun. 

  


“Sure, I saved some for you. That little bitch was so easy to fuck over its laughable.” Nathan smirked and led Jinny to the table and took out the bag with a little remaining cocaine. 

  


Upon seeing the state of the table, spills of alcohol, remnants of food and other stains, Jinny immediately snatched the bag out of Nathan’s hand. “Thanks, but I can do it myself.” _Fuck no._ Jinny wasn’t going to snort a line on that _disgusting_ table.

  


Nathan was a little taken back but was too high to care at that point. He simply said “Whatever you want darling, just come find me later.” He leaves after kissing her neck.

  


“You sure got him around your finger.” Sima joked witnessing the interaction.

  


“He was easy.” Jinny said plainly. “Gimme your arm.”

  


“Fuck no. You said last time was the last time.”

  


“You expect me to snort it off that fucking mess of a table? I know you’re clean.” Jinny retorted, glaring at the dirty table top.

  


“Do it on your own arm.”

  


“Don’t tell me what to do.” Jinny reached and forcefully pulled Sima’s arm in front of her. “You can do one on my arm after.”

  


Sima sighed in defeat. “Fine.”

  


“Good.” Jinny carefully poured out the cocaine, taking a rolled out banknote out her pocket and shifted the white powder into a neat line on Sima’s arm. Satisfied with her work she easily snorted the line. She sniffed and felt the cocaine enter her body; it didn’t even sting. 

  


Jinny handed the bag and note to Sima who grimaced as she took it. “My turn.”

  


Jinny pulled up her sleeve and stretched her arm out infront of her. “Lets have some fun.”

~

  


Salicia neared the base, She felt the sweat on the back of her neck slick like oil from her running. Her harsh exhales sounded like the rustling of leaves within the chilled autumn air. She used the back of her hand to wipe off the small beads of sweat on her forehead as she walked down the street. The base was inconspicuously located in the bustling area of Soho. It was easy to blend in and hide within the maze of apartment blocks, alleyways, shops, restaurants and constantly changing architecture after every left corner turned. Soho attracted a variety of visitors, from tourists to clubbers; to the elderly to the business people; from teens to adults. Truly, it seemed like every breed of person could be spotted in Soho. Which was one of the reasons Salicia liked it so much even though it was where her dirtiest secret laid. She could walk around and mostly be overlooked. A young dark skinned eighteen year old dressed in a tattered hoodie and a pair of moth-eaten denim jeans could easily be disregarded as a rebellious teen with bad fashion taste. 

  


Salicia checked her watch: nine fifty-two. She didn’t really have a deadline for returning with the day’s haul as long as she returned before the next day’s job started. She had slowed to a relaxed stroll as she passed the bright lit restaurants and bars. She felt hunger start to gnaw at her stomach like a dog. She swallowed a deep breath of air as it would satiate her. The temperature was falling; the air gaining a bitter cold quality which started to chill her hand. Salicia shoved her hands into her pockets, her hoodie’s material was too thin and worn to do much, but it was better than nothing. Her fingers brushed against the smooth texture of the business card she had received earlier from Jinny. Salicia remembered the black haired woman’s striking coal eyes and her smile as she offered her the money and the job. Salicia was still unsure about whether to accept her offer or not. 

  


_You don’t even know her._ The uncertainty was still very prominent in her mind. True, she only interacted with the woman for less than an hour after she’d witnessed Salicia’s own defeat. Maybe it was out of pity that she had wanted to help her. Thinking about it made Salicia anxious. However she was grateful for the money as it assured that she’d still have a job -through an illegal one- at the end of the day. Suddenly she remembered how much the woman had given her. The thick stack of bills flashed clear as day in Salicia’s memory. She turned into a mostly deserted car park. A few street lamps dimly lit up the area but the shadows were still very defined. The area was all very grey like a monotone photograph.

  


Salicia makes her way to a narrow alleyway wedged between two generic block buildings at the end of the car park. After she slipped into the alley, concealed by the shadows of the looming buildings between; she takes her backpack off and opens it. She quickly grabbed the stack of cash she’d gotten and meticulously counted it. Once, twice, then a third time. The notes were skillfully flicked through by her fingers. Her eyes widened when she finally finished for the third time. She didn’t even realise she’d been holding her breath till her hands shook. It was _triple_ the amount she needed. The extra was enough to keep her and her family sustained for at least two weeks. Shakily, Salicia separated the cash taking the extra and stuffing it into the band of her jeans and binding the remaining, putting it into her bag. 

  


She wasn’t doing anything wrong. The money was given to her anyways, she could do whatever the fuck she wanted with it. It wasn’t like she was stealing it, she was still giving her boss the right amount. _It’s fine. I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m just surviving._

  


After taking a steady breath, Salicia began venturing further down the alley; the money she’d stuffed into her jeans felt uncomfortable rubbing against her skin. But keeping it in her pockets was too obvious and she didn’t want to get caught. As she kept walking the walls seemed to enclose closer towards her. She was able to touch the wall with her fingertips easily, dragging them across the rough jagged surface of the brick wall. She drew unintelligible lines behind her as she descended deeper into the darkness. Eventually, she reached a crossroad -well, cross-alleyway- turning left without hesitation. She could probably make her way to base blindfolded from the outskirts of Soho from coming so often. She would always remember the base tucked away in the heart of Soho for as long as she lived. Should she be proud to know something most people didn’t even know existed or afraid to know how something so illegal was hidden so easily, tucked away under the blinding clubs, rush of people and hub of business.

  


A rusty iron door greeted Salicia at the end of the alleyway. It was decrepit, the surface was spotted in metallic red clawing away at the iron. Anyone who got this far would turn around disturbed and maybe fearful at what lied inside the seemingly abandoned building.  
  
Salicia knocked harshly on the door three times, a sonorous sound sparked from the door, without a beat the door was flung open. A tall statured man, balding with a round face and dead eyes. The usual: whatever day Salicia came it was always the same guard who opened the door. To be honest most of the bottom pack goons were similar but this one was characterised by the industrial piercing on his ear as well as the same piercing stare he greeted her with. He stared at her impassively without blinking Salicia felt awkward at how long his eyes seemed to look at her so unfocused. Deciding that she’d had enough of the goon staring at her she raised her arm slightly and waved like old friends meeting each other. Hilarious.

  


“Aren’t you going to let me in?” She lightly questioned. No matter how many times she encountered the gang’s guards they never ceased to intimidate her. They stood tall and towering; their short sleeved shirts showed off their muscled arms and most of the time the tapestry of tattoos painted on them; most of all. The way their eyes trained on people was enough for Salicia to want to scuttle home. 

  


“Sorry girlie, didn’t see’ya there in the dark and all,” he laughed to himself hoglike, the noise grating on her ears, as he stepped to the side letting her step foot into the base. 

  


Salicia wasn’t sure whether he was fucking blind or fucking racist. She decided it was the latter and pursed her lips to avoid saying something that would end with a punch to the face. 

  


For the nth time of the day Salicia was assaulted by the stench of cigarette smoke and alcohol. It was the nearing the end of the day (the beginning for some) after all - a bottle of whisky was the perfect way to unwind from the day or begin it. She was let through without a pat down. On any other day she would’ve thought of it as an insult; the fact they thought she was so weak and harmless they didn’t even need to check her for weapons. _It’s not far from the truth though._ Salicia had never even touched a gun somehow throughout the years she’s been running from the gang. In addition she was never one for violence, the most she’d seen was when some guy was gunned down in an old action movie she’d seen when she was thirteen. She may be a drug runner but she never tried to overstay her welcome, quicking getting the job and getting paid. She’d never tried to look deeper into what was happening around her, mostly trying to ignore everything around her when it came to the gang. She just needed the money to survive - nothing more, nothing less. She didn’t want to get high, she didn’t want to get her hands dirty, she certainly didn’t want to kill anyone. In all honesty she was just plain fucking scared.

  


The base was nothing spectacular. In reality it was very subpar at best. The room was a mess, the carpet lining the floor covered in so many stains the original cream colour could barely be seen beneath. The ‘living room’ for lack of a better word was more like a pig sty, the higher ups never really bothering to clean after themselves. They left the floor littered with cigarette butts, crumpled pieces of paper and a variety of weapons lounged on the floor and furniture. As for the furniture: it was all a bit mediocre. The wooden coffee table, the main attraction of the room, sat in the middle surrounded by hoary sofas, the innards leaking out from the holes. The legs were chipped leaving the surface unbalanced and titled to the left. Unidentifiable stains glossed the surface like scars partly covered by the glasses of alcohol, beer cans and blunts. It was in short - filthy. 

  


This ‘living room’ of sorts wasn’t the base, far from it. Three doors laid on each side of the walls leading deeper into the base where the real shit was. This just served as the hangout spot for members to lounge around to either escape from their actual priorities or just relax. Salicia could never understand how anyone could even sit down peacefully anywhere much less lay down to sleep.

  


Including the breathing inhabitants of the room made the whole habitat even more filthy. The gang members were all scattered around. Some laid on the sofas still as logs seemingly asleep; the snores sounded like dog growls. Others settled on the floor for lack of actual seating arrangements, lost in smoking, inspecting their weapons or some other stuff that Salicia didn’t want to mess with. None of them paid her any mind which she was grateful for. It was primarily the older semi-important members who stayed around. The exception were the teenies, lost little kids standing rigidly near the edges of the room. The gang were always on the look out for the young ones who were desperate and stupid to get themsleves involved with this lifestyle. There was obvious fear in their eyes, with the stiffness of their arms and the way their eyes trained on one spot of the room. Salicia always felt some empathy for them and tried not to let her eyes linger too long.

  


“Oi teenie. Pass me that,” the low grumble belonged to the figure on the sofa. His voice was laced with sleep and pot, it seemed like he’d woken up on the wrong side of the bed, well sofa.

  


Salicia glanced at the shuddering ten year old. A frail looking girl with blonde plaited hair and big cartoon-like eyes. She was stunned into the ground, unmoving after the command. She was new, Salicia had never seen her before which was unsurprising. The teenies never stuck for long before being replaced with a newcomer. Salicia didn’t want to wonder about where they disappeared to. 

  


“You little brat, didn’t ya hear me. Gimme the fucking box,” at this the girl was startled out of her stunned state, quickly picked up the cigarette box, almost dropping it and handed it to the man with a shaky arm. 

  


He snatched the box. Rapidly the girl stepped back.

  


“No, stay here.” She stopped. “Sit your ass down,” he said pointing at the floor near his feet as he pulled out a stick from the box. The girl obediently sat down onto the trashed floor and stared down at her knees.

  


Salicia decided she didn’t want to stick around to see what happened and proceeded to make her way to the Boss’s office. 

  


She made her way to another iron door on the opposite side of the room, carefully tiptoeing around the floor to avoid stepping on something that would leave her with a less functional foot. Opening the door Salicia walked into the revealed dimly lit hallway with a staircase at the end which seemed to descend into the abyss. Salicia held her breath as she passed the toilet recalling the usual reeking scent that escaped from the closed door. She’d never taken a step inside, not wanting to see the true state of it and the source of the foul smell. She cautiously walked down the unstable steel stairs, the metal clanging echoing from each step. 

  


At the bottom of the staircase it was completely different. The basement was more like a warehouse. The large opened space was substantial, the air slightly frigid from the lack of heating. A multitude of crates and boxes (containing a variety of illegal goods) filled the room. Wooden crates filled with bags and boxes, old containers, cardboard boxes stacked neatly and groups of barrels occupied the floor like grass on a field. Salicia knew there were cameras hidden everywhere in the room to make sure no one tried their luck at stealing something unless they wanted to end up as a dead body. Suppressing the shudder from being watched Salicia confidently makes her way to a door located to her left not too far from the staircase. 

  


The door had a translucent window on the upper half currently covered by a black curtain. She knocked the door with her knuckles twice. 

  


“Come in,” The two words that responded were deep and muffled.

  
Salicia entered. 

  


“Those Axiom bastards upped the price again,” the Boss shouted down the phone. Unlike the scruffy thug-like gang leaders seen in movies, the Boss wasn’t that. Instead he was quite a lean guy with a clean shaven face and sharp catlike eyes. Pale skin gave an indication that he probably didn’t go out much. His lips were so pale blending into his skin making his mouth look disturbingly thin. He was young, somewhere in his twenties. However his deep grumbly voice was an uncanny contrast to his face. Who knew a gang leader would be so young? Maybe someone else was in charge before him? Salicia had been working for the gang for almost four years and this was the only Boss she’d seen. Salicia didn’t even know his name. However Salicia never tried to look deeper into the history. 

  


Not wanting to distract the Boss, Salicia stood and waited patiently in front of the desk which had a bunch of files and papers atop it as well as a laptop. The office was a harsh contrast to the ruined state upstairs. Unlike the room upstairs, the furniture was polished and stainless. The concrete floor was covered by a thin red and brown patterned rug. The whole room didn’t even smell like cigarettes, instead a pleasant smell of sandalwood and citrus permeated from the diffuser sitting on the wall shelf to the side. Salicia tried her best not to breathe too deeply but it was hard to resist such a redolent scent especially when she was surrounded by the smoke of drugs all day. 

  


The Boss must have a preference for browns and wooden textures as that dominated the room. Every piece of furniture from the desk to the alcohol cabinet was in a smooth spiral textured wood in a deep nutty brown, like cocoa. In short the office was strangely tailored and clean. But it seemed rather fitting for the young Boss. 

  


“Tell them to raise orders for the next few weeks,” he said, the way he spoke was firm, each word punctuated clearly. “No, I don’t care if we’re underhanded. We've to make sure we don’t get those bastards on our asses for not paying up.” A pause. The voice on the phone was much too muffled for Salicia to hear - not that she was eavesdropping. “Just make sure we double profit by the end of the week. Got it?” He doesn’t wait for an answer before hanging up. 

  


He looked up at Salicia indicating for her to come closer. She stepped closer and handed over her backpack. The Boss said nothing to her as he took out the cash and started counting the bills quickly and methodically. His hands moved skillfully as they danced through the bills. He was done in under a minute. The air felt tight. Salicia stood nervously suddenly aware of the cash she’d stuffed into her jeans. What if she didn’t count the amount right? What if he could see the cash beneath the band of her jeans? Salicia played with the card in her pocket to distract herself. The Boss simply wrapped the cash into even stacks and put it safely into his desk. Salicia wanted to collapse from relief that she’d done nothing wrong today. 

  


The Boss took out a significantly smaller stack of notes and tossed it carelessly into her bag; he pulled out a folded piece of paper and slid it across the desk along with her backpack towards Salicia. 

  


“Tomorrow’s runs. The first is at eight thirty sharp. Don’t be late.” He said monotonically as she picked up the list and backpack. Salicia wanted to scream at the fact that she was stuck doing the morning runs. Again.

  


“Yes Boss.” She answered and turned to leave.

  


“What was the Mayor’s nephew like?” Salicia stopped abruptly from the sudden question. She turned around to face the Boss somewhat stunned, he seemed to be looking at something on his laptop.

  


“Pardon?” Salicia said cautiously. _The mayor’s nephew?_

  


“The mayor’s nephew. What was he like?” He asked again, his eyes still pinned to his laptop. People sure liked not looking at her when they talked.

  


“I’m sorry sir but I’m not sure who that is,” Salicia truly didn’t know who the mayor’s nephew was let alone be able to remember him out of the dozen people she’d met today. 

  


“Clueless as always. The boy who wanted some coke. Probably at his million pound mansion you can’t even imagine owning.” Salicia’s eyes widened for the hundredth time that day. 

Nathan. _He’s the mayor’s nephew?_ The Boss flicked his eyes to look at her for a second before resuming what he was doing on his laptop; undoubtedly he saw Salicia’s dumbstruck face. “So, what was he like?”

  


Salicia contemplated whether she should say the truth or come up with some lie. Ultimately she decided to let her distaste be known. The guy brought some cocaine anyways, it wasn’t like he was innocent. 

  


“He was a fucking asshole.” Salicia spitted with all her disgust. 

  


The Boss chuckled, quiet but threatening. “How intriguing. I wonder what people would think. The mayor’s nephew is buying drugs.” Salicia didn’t know what to do. The Boss’s comment clearly showed that he was concocting something in his mind. What it was, Salicia obviously didn’t have the faintest clue. She was never good at reading people. Mostly because she was scared to know what they were truly thinking. She definitely didn’t want to know what the Boss was thinking. Or maybe she was just paranoid. “You can go now.” 

  


With that Salicia left.

  


~

By the time Salicia neared her neighbourhood it was almost midnight. The base was an hour on foot from her home. It was an annoyance but Salicia wanted to be as far away as possible from it whilst still being able to travel back and forth somewhat comfortably on foot. Night walking did have its charm. It felt like she was the only person in the universe and she could do whatever she ever wanted. She’d never have to worry about her family, her food, her future. It was a delusional thought, even selfish but Salicia couldn’t help but think: _What if I didn’t have to live like this?_ It wasn’t like she intentionally became a drug runner. She was running out of options and in the end she deemed drug running to be the safest. She knew she was born poor, her parents unable to get themselves out of poverty so the cycle repeated. Salicia was trying her best though. She may have dropped out of school to make some illegal but much needed cash but her younger sister still had a chance to get herself the hell out of this shit hole. Same for her parents. Same for herself, maybe. She was trying her fucking hardest dammit so the universe needs to pay her back eventually.

  


Salicia was solemnly munching on a slice of -definitely stale- white bread that she’d brought from the corner shop. All the supermarkets were closed now but Salicia was in desperate need of sustenance, knowing at home there wasn’t much food. The owner wasn’t particularly happy that she’d come in so close to closing time but rang her up despite the scowl on his face. The bread wasn’t the best as she bit into it, the texture sandy and dry, laying on her tongue like sand in a desert. She was terribly dehydrated. Her throat felt like it was getting scratched each time she swallowed. 

  


She sighed in relief as she neared her shabby flat. It was shoved between two other flats, the one on the right a fading green and the one on the left a rusting red. Her flat was the dullest - a dirty grey. Strangely fitting to say the least. 

  


Her neighbourhood was bad. No point in sugarcoating it. It was a shit hole. Crime festered like constantly growing mold. It was unsafe; there were constant sounds of shouting and things being broken and smashed. The chance of you getting robbed were probably around seventy percent, and no one cared about the streets being clean. The trashmen seemed to only come once a month probably wanting to avoid the area. Regardless of all these factors, Salicia was still happy she had a place to sleep and a roof over her head. She’d rather have a place for her family and her to stay rather than be exposed to the elements. 

  


The keycard for the door was long broken years ago. Salicia just pulled on the metal door and it swung open easily. Even if it was fixed, it’d be broken in less than a few days by some jackass who’s too lazy to bring the keycard with him. Stepping inside Salicia ignored the lift, the yellow out of order tape had been hanging there for years that the tape itself was so faded the letters could barely be seen. She immediately started her way up the stairs. The inside air was damp and held the vague scent of cigarettes and piss. The steps were uneven from decades of use, the previous light grey paint that covered the steps was now completely nonexistent, the ashen concrete beneath completely revealed.  
  


Salicia’s flat was on the highest floor - the fourth floor. Which is arguably the worst floor for when it’s almost midnight and your feet are dead from a day’s worth of travel by foot. Salicia heaved a huge sigh of relief when she reached her floor; the soles of her feet pounded in pain. When she got to her door she pulled out her keys or well key. It was silver and scratched from years of use, it was given to her by her parents - they couldn’t afford to get another one duplicated and it wasn’t like they really wanted to leave or could anyway. Her door was black. The paint job was uneven and streaky which always nagged at Salicia whenever she saw it. She knew that she could have painted it better with her eyes closed. Other than the crappy paint job the house numbers also seemed to have gotten up and walked away. The only indication that they were ever there in the first place was the blank white space they left behind - sixteen. 

  


The door creaked jaggedly once Salicia opened the door. She silently slipped off her trainers by the chewed up door mat and closed the door wincing at the creaks that emanated from the unoiled hinges. Footsteps as light as possible -her family were most likely asleep- she made a detour into their cramped little kitchen. Even though it was barely big enough to fill more than two people, they were somehow able to fit a stove, sink and fridge along with a few kitchen cupboards. Granted they did need to sacrifice the window to fit the fridge but the view wasn’t exactly pleasant anyway. Salicia flicked the light switch, which caused the light bulb to spasm for a few seconds before fully illuminating. It wasn’t like their kitchen was an absolute mess but it wasn’t exactly spotless either. The kitchen counters were all scratched and the fake granite coating was starting to wear away, the once white fridge was now smothered in a smoky grey and the stove was definitely stained for eternity. 

  


Remembering the glamorous island kitchen she was in earlier made Salicia see the griminess of her own kitchen tenfold. Salicia opened the fridge, the many jars and bottles clinked against each other as the door swung open and carelessly tossed the leftover loaf of bread onto one of the shelves to preserve whatever little shelf life it had left. Seeing the state of inside Salicia made a mental note to remind her mother to clean it when she had time, which she indeed had a lot. The dryness of her throat reminded her to take a huge drink of water. Turning on the tap let a pitiful stream of water spill out, Salicia put her head beneath and drank. The water was cold and refreshing washing down her throat, rejuvenating her dehydrated being.

  


On her way to her bedroom -she did have a room to herself thank goodness- she paused in front of her parents’ bedroom door. She seperated the cash she was paid today, about three quarters of it was taken out and placed on the floor for her parents. She suddenly remembered the cash stuffed in her jeans. She hesitated and pursed her lips. Salicia wasn’t sure whether she should give it to her parents or not. Not that she didn’t want to, but she needed some extra cash too. _It was her’s wasn’t it?_ Does it make her selfish? Her parent’s didn’t even work. Well, her father couldn’t even leave the house however her mother could at least try to find a job. No. Salicia wasn’t blaming her parents. Living so long in conditions that were against them surely would break people. Salicia suspected that, even though her parents never really said anything, they had given up to a certain extent. 

  


Staring at the cash on the ground Salicia decided she was going to be a little selfish for once. 

  


“Sally?” Salicia jumped startled and wiped her head in the direction of the soft muffled voice. Standing in the hallway was a petite girl in loose pale yellow pajamas that clung onto her frame. Her younger sister rubbed her sleep covered eyes with the back of her hand. Salicia felt a veil of calm fall over her at the sight of her sister. 

  


“Hey, I’m home,” Salicia said softly, getting up and enveloping her sister in a warm hug regardless of the fact that she was still wearing her dirty clothes. “Why are you up? You have school tomorrow.” She questioned as her sister wrapped her arms around her in response. 

  


“Can’t sleep,” she mumbled in her clothes.

  


“Do you want to sleep in my room?” Salicia offered. Her sister had a room to herself as well, she was ten and didn’t need the supervision. Her parents never liked having anyone else in their room too. In addition Salicia wasn’t home half the time, leaving in the morning and returning late at night and she wanted her sister somewhat separated from her lifestyle. For tonight though, she wouldn’t mind some company.

  


Her sister gave a subtle nod in her arms. Salicia released her from her hug and held her hand instead. “Don’t fall asleep now, Neveah.” She couldn’t help but smile at the half awake girl in front of her. Her eyes were barely open, eyelashes fluttering as she fought to keep her eyelids separated. Her skin unblemished and her bright pink lips showed no signs of evil. Salicia wanted to make sure Neveah never had to become tainted, never had to turn to being a criminal, never had to struggle like she did. She would try her hardest not to let the fires of the hell she’d become accustomed to touch her. It was the least she could give.

  


Salicia’s room was arguably the best. It was situated at the end of the living room. It wasn’t that it was the biggest or had the best lighting. It was the fact that it actually felt lived in. It felt like it was actually alive. Salicia had put effort in making her room her’s. Even her door held a piece of her. When she was younger she always had an infatuation on art, paintings, pictures, images. Things that looked beautiful; things that were made by a hand that wanted to show something; things that simply showed a piece of someone; things that sometimes breathed as if they were alive. One of her first ventures into creating something of her own was painting her own name on her door. The letters laid in cursive black paint on her door, the curls of the letters hugged each other like close friends. Somedays Salicia would trace her fingers over the letters and remembered the way her seven year old self had dragged a chair to get high enough and with the stubborn determination of a child stood there for hours attentively painting each letter of her name. By the time she was done, after spilling the pot of paint on herself and her dress, -miraculously it didn’t touch the door- she stared at her ‘masterpiece’ and screamed in joy almost falling off her chair. It was a fond memory she held in her fingertips. 

  


Neveah immediately curled up in Salicia’s bed; her breathing evened indicating she’d fallen asleep. Salicia decided to let her occupy the bed for now and took out the extra cash from her jeans as she sat down at her desk. She slowly counted the cash: four hundred and fifty pounds. Added with the measly fifty pounds (the other half given to her parents) for today she had made twice what she’d make in a week. Salicia’s pay varied from week to week depending on orders, but usually they never exceeded three hundred. Sometimes she was paid for the day, sometimes she wasn’t. Sometimes she was fully paid at the end of the week or paid in small amounts during the week. She never had control over it. In the end it didn't matter when she was paid, she just needed some cash.

  


Today she’d hit the jackpot. And she didn’t need to split three quarters of it for her parents. She couldn’t suppress the widening grin on her face. She could do so much with the money. But, it was likely better if she saved it in her stash. Salicia didn’t have a bank account. She most likely didn’t qualify anyway. Any extra cash she had left over she stashed around her room like easter eggs. She had rolled up notes in the gap behind the radiator, beneath the janky floor boards, underneath her mattress. But most of it went in the hole in her wall as cliché as that was. 

  


Her walls were covered in pieces of her art, magazine cut outs, posters, any image that caught her interest, her own paintings were the wallpaper. It was a massive sprawling art piece. Beneath the layers upon layers of papers was a hole that had been created since she was young. Her memories were hazy, but she remembered her father had come home with a little too much alcohol flowing through his veins and a little too much on his mind. It exploded - the result: a hole in the wall. At least it was useful now. 

  


Salicia quietly got up and peeled back one particular poster, an old school black and white movie poster, it revealed a second piece of paper -you could never be too careful- with her recreation of Monet’s ‘Woman with a parasol’ also known as _The stroll._ Salicia liked to indulge herself in the arts, priding herself on knowing various artists and paintings from contemporary to the old. She was very proud of that piece which was one of the reasons it served to protect her secret stash. The hole behind wasn’t too big, it was only slightly larger than her hand. The edges were uneven from the rough way they were broken, whenever she put her hand in it it looked like it was a beast about to sink its teeth into her arms. Cash in hand she reached in and felt the other few stacks she’d hidden inside, she placed her cash orderly on top of the pile and retreated her hand. With that she plastered back the pieces of paper concealing her secret, guarding it. 

  


Shuffling sounded and Salicia whipped her head to look at Neveah, who turned to her side and mumbled something unintelligible through her breath, she was sound asleep. Salicia sighed through her nose. It was strange to keep something hidden from her family. Salicia was never able to fully suppress the guilt, it was always around her like pollution in the air. You couldn’t see it but you knew it was there. Salicia didn’t even know why she was keeping it hidden. Was it that she feared her family stealing it? That she would be seen as selfish? When Salicia realised her life wasn’t exactly going to go the way she wanted she knew that some things were better kept a secret in order to survive.

  


Squeezing her aching eyes shut for a second to relieve their growing tiredness, Salicia went back to sit down at her desk. Sure, she _could_ go to sleep and rest up from the disastrous day but Salicia wanted to do something that would soothe her wavering soul. With determination, wiping the tiredness from her eyes, Salicia pulled out her sketchpad. It was still thin and seemingly spotless except the fact that the paper inside was starting to bloom yellow on the edges. Unlike her bulky bursting sketchbooks, this one was dwindling in pages because most of its pages were reborn as her wallpaper. Salicia didn’t know when the habit started but now whenever she drew something in this sketchbook it would inevitably end up on display on her wall. She opened the book to be immediately met with a fresh blank page expecting to be filled. The torn remnants of the previous pages were a ripped mess on the binding like the messy frills on a dress. 

  


Grabbing a simple 2B pencil, Salicia’s hand hovered over the page. She wasn’t exactly sure which direction she was going. She didn’t even really know what she was going to draw. It was only the fact that she wanted to draw, to feel the smooth texture of the paper under the tip of the pencil, the way it moves around like a bird soaring smoothly through the sky. Salicia closed her eyes and thought about something, anything that stood out to her.

  


With new found resolve, Salicia set the tip of the pencil on the page and drew. 

  


~

  


Time passed. Salicia was completely unaware of how long she drew for and it didn’t really matter either. Placing down her pencil gingerly on the desk (still aware of the fact Neveah was still sound asleep on her bed) she smiled proud of her drawing. Her fingers were coated in graphite and her back twinged in a bit of pain as she sat up straight. Salicia placed her sketchbook down on the desk and checked the time: Three twenty-six.

  


Stifling her yawn Salicia decided it was definitely time to sleep. She rubbed her hand on her jeans in an attempt to rub off some of the graphite. It didn’t really matter if her jean’s got dirty, they were already a mess anyways. She remembered to check her pockets before taking off her hoodie. The last time she forgot she’d left her run list in there - it didn’t end well.

  


Her hands grazed over a card. Salicia immediately pulled it out and stared at it with fascination. The card was creased near the edge from the abuse inside her pockets but it still looked devastatingly opulent. The black card was pleasantly smooth, the letters ‘MX’ were written in white serif font, striking against the darkness. Salicia pursed her lips as she turned the card and proceeded to look at the phone number situated on the back. 

  


_Should she call? Or text?_

  


She looked down at her drawing and saw the sharp asian eyes of the woman staring back at her. Yes. She drew Jinny. Only because she was running out of ideas and Jinny's face stuck out to her. She drew it from memory -of course- so there were probably copious amounts of inconsistencies but it still looked like her. Salicia had to put a lot of pressure on her pencil to achieve the darkness of her midnight black hair. Salicia never really drew people. 1)She didn’t really have any friends. 2) She’s drawn her family too many times. 3) The people she did meet weren’t exactly the most pleasant looking most of the time. It was refreshing to draw a person who wasn’t her family or some random person in a magazine. 

  


Staring intently at the phone number and Salicia sighed heavily and grabbed for her phone. 

  


Pulling up her contacts page Salicia put in Jinny’s number. It’s been a long time since Salicia had to add a new contact; the only number’s she had were her parents and her job (which never actually called her for protection reasons most likely, if they called her one day she knew she was definitely going to die). After adding the contact Salicia put the card away into her desk drawer. She looked at her phone but made no move to call. _What if she was just being nice? What if she was lying? What if this a whole fucking joke?_ _But, she gave me the money to help me?_

  


Salicia’s mind was in a fury. The job seemed so tempting and Jinny herself didn’t seem to be a bad person. For god's sake she gave Salicia a whole stack of cash. 

  


Someone was willing to give her a chance. A drug runner for that matter.

  


_Fuck it._

  


Salicia opened the messaging app.

  


Fingers hovering over the keyboard for a second before she eventually formulates a decent text:

  


_Hello, is this Jinny? This is Salicia. You met me at the party today. Thank You so much for helping me out again. You said that you could give me a job? I wanted to follow up on that. This is my number, please get back to me when you can and tell me the details. Thanks - Salicia._

  


Salicia read through her text at least ten times before finally hitting the send button. After it was sent she still stared and read over it a few times just to make sure there weren't any mistakes. Was she paranoid? Yes. Who could blame her, Salicia has never been presented with an opportunity like this. If she could actually get a stable job she could actually live normally and best of all legally.

  


She waited for another few minutes anticipating a reply. Then it struck her. _Who sends a fucking text at three AM?_ Internally groaning Salicia switched her phone off and decided it was definitely time to shut down for the day. Hopefully Jinny didn’t think she was a sleepless freak or something. 

  


After shutting off her lamp Salicia snuggled up on her bed beside Neveah. Thankfully her sister’s small frame didn’t take up much room on the bed. Salicia placed her head on the pillow, the soft material felt like feathers and welcomed her with open arms. Her back and body internally thanked her as she rested on the soft mattress. She looked at Neveah’s peaceful face, slack and completely sleep ridden. The house was abnormally quiet today. There was nothing but Neveah’s soft breathing which punctuated the silence. Breathing in deeply, Salicia was thankful she survived another day.

  


She shut her eyes and fell asleep with a glint of a smile on her face. 

  



	2. The Executioner

“That fucker!” Jinny cursed loudly at her reflection in the mirror. 

“Shut up…” Sima groaned somewhere under the covers of the bed behind her. Her voice was muffled but it was undeniably annoyed even if groggy. Her quick temper was something that always revealed itself with Jinny. But it was still tied tightly on a leash. She had to be careful. 

Jinny turned around, hand tightly gripping the neck of her hoodie to reveal the mess of littered hickeys and love bites tainting her pale neck. “Do you see this?” 

Sima only tossed around beneath the messy, soft, silk covered bedding in response. Jinny heavily sighed in annoyance walking towards the walk-in wardrobe. “It’s your own fault, it’s not the first time this happened,” Sima stated matter a factly, her voice much clearer and brighter indicating that sleep was starting to lose its grip on her.

Yes. It has happened before, not just once but multiple times. So many times she didn’t even remember how many times it happened. In all honesty Jinny didn’t even know why she was complaining. It was more out of habit than actual shock. At that point nobody else found it particularly surprising if she turned up with a profusion of hickeys and other questionable marks on her neck. “I know Simona,” was Jinny’s only response. Simona. Using her full name as a warning to not push it and lecture her. 

The only indication that she heard her was a hum followed by silence. She hasn’t snuggled back under the sheets and ran back to sleep. Rather she was relaxing, completely aware, on the bed but too lazy to actually get up. She was the equivalent to a watching cat.

Checking her watch - a rolex sky-dweller in white gold with a black dial - it was almost six fifteen AM. Her meeting was at seven forty, and her chauffeur would most likely arrive to pick her up at six forty latest. No matter, Jinny had enough time to get ready at her own pace.

Jinny was still dressed in last night’s clothes; the only change being that she’d thrown one of her many black hoodies before she’d gone to sleep. Her and Simona liked to keep the temperature cool, which to most people would feel reminiscent of being inside a fridge. They both left the party at around four in the morning - neither of them wanted to stay at the ratty mansion. They both had jobs to do and wanted to sleep comfortably in their own beds. Except -as usual- Simona was too lazy to walk to her bedroom and simply decided to crash in Jinny’s room instead. Jinny was too tired, high and slightly tipsy to argue. 

The bed was big enough to fit at least three people. Jinny and Simona weren’t exactly tall in stature which left them plenty of room to sleep without even grazing each other. Jinny usually despised having anyone else in her bedroom no less sleep in the same bed. However -somehow- Simona became the exception. The bed was large but simple. The bed frame was wooden but painted in a smooth black and covered in a supple black velvet. Atop laid the mattress, which seemed fairly generic but good mattresses cost a fortune especially one so large. The bedding and duvet were in a clean, minimalist, white design, the only pattern being a few sewn grey flowers lining the bottom of the duvet cover clamouring on each other like vines. Pillows were aplenty on the bed, they were mostly there for aesthetic purposes rather than functionality. Jinny mostly used the same three pillows, one for her head, one for her back -for when she worked- and one that she hugged while she slept. If Simona slept with her there were always a few pillows that got casted out and subjected to being on the floor. But Sima always knew to pick them back up and make the bed to perfection if she left after Jinny unless she wanted to be thrown out for a week or worse. 

Jinny was a pain in the ass. She wouldn’t deny something that was true after all. 

Walking into her closet Jinny scanned the various clothes hanging around her. Her walk-in closet wasn’t exactly the most diverse in colour, the majority of the clothes were in either black or white with a scant amount of coloured shirts however even the coloured shirts never got brighter than a pale yellow. Skirts and dresses were nonexistent, Jinny had a certain vice against them, ever since she was old enough to dress herself - which was particularly young- she’d boycotted ever wearing a dress or skirt publicly and excommunicated them from her fashion repertoire. The way her legs were exposed beneath the fabric and the fictitious functionality of them made her incredibly uncomfortable. Instead her closet was filled with an array of jeans, oversized shirts, hoodies, sweatpants (for her at home comfort, she wouldn’t be caught dead with them on outside) and the occasional pair of shorts. However for business purposes a whole section of her wardrobe was dedicated to identical pairs of white dress shirts and suit trousers all tailor-made for her incorporating the finest materials. She had a large selection of blazers, most of them were black but there were other designs too: black with gold accents, pure white, red velvet, dark green, white with red details on the back. She usually stuck to wearing her black blazers, they were easier to appear clean. The other ones and her full set suits were for more important events where she needed to make more of an impact. Though a whole black outfit was sometimes the most striking in some circumstances. 

Today, Jinny selected her normal dress shirt, a black blazer and a pair of black slacks. She swiftly threw off her hoodie and unbuttoned her black dress shirt. The smell of cigarettes, alcohol and sweat suddenly became apparent previously muted by her hoodie, Jinny resisted the urge to cover her nose and quickly took the shirt off. Replacing her black dress shirt with the white one. Jinny stared at her reflection in the mirror, the hickeys were stark against her pale skin and spanned from her neck down below the collar of her shirt. Kicking off her pants and putting on her black slacks, tucking her shirt in Jinny studied herself in the mirror, eyes focusing on the marks on her neck and her tired face, Before she would’ve tried to cover it up with makeup or a scarf but now she truly didn’t care. It was just another irrelevant detail placed on her being. If anyone looked at her they wouldn’t even think much other than the fact that they assumed she was a whore. 

Deep down Jinny hated it.

She wasn’t a fucking whore. However her actions seemed to speak more than her thoughts. Maybe she was in denial. The origins of her habit seemed to spring from nowhere. Jinny honestly didn’t really know why she kept doing it, going out, getting drunk and high, fucking some random person and leaving. Before she only stuck to business, now she kept going as a way to satisfy her - boredom? Satiating her boredom -or whatever was eating away at her- was a hate-love relationship. Whatever was missing was like a paper cut. It felt so small but it constantly ached and reminded her it was there. She usually ignored it but sometimes she found herself looking for something to heal it.

The way she healed it was whatever she desired: clothes, money, jewellery, people were fun. She hated it but at the same time she loved it. The feeling of it. The way the intoxication dragged her around and misted everything around her. Of course, she was careful. She only really did this a few times a month with her limited free time anyway. Sometimes she really longed for it. Sometimes she loathed it. Simona always asked why she kept it up. Jinny always just answered with an insouciant shrug and said ‘I just want to have a little fun’. It was fun. The way it hurt, the way deep down she hated it made it fun. Fun was what she was missing. 

Truly as she stared at herself in the mirror she felt as if her reflection was detached from her. Her being in the mirror was a manifestation of herself, she wasn’t really there like she was transparent. If she tried really hard maybe she could see the edge of the bed behind her. Was she even really there? Slowly her fingers creeped up to her face which seemed foggy in the mirror. Her dark circles were like scars beneath her eyes; the blaring red marks on her neck like fireworks; her hair cascaded down in a puffy mess like flowing ink. She poked the side of her cheek. She almost flinched at the fact that her finger made contact with her -surprisingly- supple skin. She poked at her cheek again, harsher this time, her nail dug into her skin a bit. Her eyes narrowed at the face in the mirror. She’s there. She wasn’t dreaming. It was probably just the crash from her cocaine high.

I’m here. 

Sighing heavily: Jinny slipped on a black blazer, turned away from the mirror and picked up her discarded clothes from last night; she left the closet. She threw her clothes into the laundry basket which was mostly empty. Simona was laying on her bed clicking away on her phone - as per usual. Jinny had already washed her face and brushed her teeth so she made a leeway to the kitchen to get some much needed sustenance in her. Which in Jinny’s mind was a warm cup of tea. However there was one problem: where the hell did she put her phone? She spotted her work phone laying on the vanity but where the hell was her own phone? Jinny stood at the origin of the room and slowly spun around, scanning the expanse of her room for her black phone with it’s silver and matte black case.

“You took longer than usual.” Simona threw out of nowhere. Jinny could feel her stare lasering at her behind the phone blocking her face.

“Where’s my phone?” Jinny questioned, ignoring Sima’s comment, crossing her arms in frustration.

Simona stretched, her back cracking as she did so producing dull sounds like hard clapping, and said: “It’s here. Seems the little bird yesterday took your bait.” She threw the black phone closer to Jinny; the black phone tumbled and summersalted on the duvet, eventually landing skewed on its side threatening to fall off the bed as Jinny picked it up. 

“You’d be paying for this if it broke,” Jinny muttered, opening the phone. Simona smiled lazily knowing she had the money and then some. 

Checking her messages -abandoning her previous plan of going to the kitchen- immediately Jinny sat down at the edge of the bed. Clicking the unknown number revealed the message Salicia had sent. Jinny’s lips twitched up into a small smile, a soft feeling of triumph settled in her. Jinny began typing a message to respond. 

She typed and sent: Good morning, I’m so happy to hear back from you Salicia and I assure you the job offer is still available. If you’re available, can you meet me at the MX company tower in the City of London at 2PM. Please bring a resume (if you have one) and your passport (or any legal ID, but your passport is preferable). I think it will be easier to go over the details in person and I can help you fill out the form. Notify me if you would like to meet at a later date. Many thanks - Jinny. 

Jinny also saved Salicia contact onto her phone before closing it and pocketing it into her blazer pocket.

As she got up Simona spoke, “What’d you text back?”

“Just to meet me at the company at 2PM today.”

“Aren’t you busy though?” Simona, lowered her phone and studied Jinny’s face.

True. Jinny was busy, her schedule was undoubtedly packed as she pushed tasks out of the way for last night's adventures. “I’ll make room for it,” she said with confidence.

Simona chuckled as she refocused on her phone, “That means a phone call with dear-old-Boss, how nice,” she dragged the last two words sarcastically. Simona always had a particular dislike for him, rather than fear, the feeling that was most amplified whenever he came up was hate. “You sure he’ll just let you off like that? You haven’t exactly been on top of things lately.”

“I have my ways. Don’t-” suddenly a ring tone sounded. Jinny groaned automatically and went to pick up her work phone which was abandoned on the vanity. The caller ID was ‘Annoying old hag’. He’s fucking early. Groaning internally Jinny accepted the call. 

“I’m downstairs,” a droning voice said from the phone.

“You’re early,” Jinny retorted, looking down at her watch which presented the time as six thirty, “why are you even here anyway?”

“You’ve been slacking lately, the Boss wanted to make you wouldn’t make a fool of yourself,” the hag’s monotone voice infuriatingly insulted her through the phone.

Knowing she’d have to behave in order to be able to make the impromptu meeting she set with Salicia later Jinny relented, “Fine, give me five.” She hung up.

“Sucks to be you I guess,” Simona remarked as Jinny hung up.

“Shut up before I slap you in the face,” Jinny turned and glared at her still lounging lazily on the bed. “Don’t you have to be at the exchange at Canary Wharf today?”

“That’s in the afternoon and it won’t even take that long if the traders play nice.”

“You’re the one who doesn’t play nice.”

“It gets the job done.”

“That’s why you’re here,” Jinny stated and as she was about to leave, “Clean up too.”

~

Jinny studied the staring eyes of Mr Witt in the rearview mirror. He was a well shaven man with a shiny bald head and a stiff mouth. His eyes hawklike, the fierceness of them was only a little overshadowed by his silver rim glasses. Mr Witt was the consigliere for the Boss but sometimes he acted like a babysitter for Jinny. He was only ever sent to her if the Boss wanted to make sure whatever job had to be done didn’t go off-course and also made sure Jinny ‘behaved’ as if she were a nonsensical five year old. To be fair the Boss did let Jinny off for her past blunders and her other expenditures. What really peeved Jinny was the way Witt was always so condescending towards her, always reprimanded her as if she was senseless and never viewed her any more than just a spoiled child. She may be spoiled rotten with money but god dammit she had intelligence better than average. She was nowhere near stupid.

Witt -being the Boss’s sole advisor for as many years that Jinny could remember- knew everything. That was what made him threatening, he may look like a harmless aged dog but he had the in and outs that could literally kill a man without getting a single speck of blood on him. His impartial judgement was what kept him around as well as the fact (even if Jinny didn’t want to admit it) he was a damn good consigliere. The whole system, the empire wouldn’t be as good as it was if he didn’t oversee the decisions. Which also made him a cocky, arrogant motherfucker. 

Jinny didn’t always have him with her as he worked for the Boss however she knew that one day she’d have an associate to oversee her too. Most likely picked by the Boss unless she was able to convince him she was able to find someone reliable on her own. Which was about as likely as a volcano erupting at that given moment. 

The Boss usually trusted her, well, maybe not trust. It was more a mandatory alliance with her. A ‘do it right or we’re both fucked’. In all honesty Jinny did want to do it right, do things well for the both of them and also for herself. Ever since she was able to even touch her hands on some of the business she never wanted to intentionally fuck anything up. In reality she was good at the work, more so than most members, which was the only reason she was allowed to have so much power so quickly. Still she was young and inexperienced which led to the watching eyes of Witt occasionally being sent to her. Witt was only ever sent to those of importance to offer his -quote on quote- invaluable expertise. Jinny knew he viewed her nothing more than a brat and a slut but even he couldn’t deny the fact that she had power and she was good at what she did. However, when she did mess up he took the chance to rub it in, repeatedly lecturing her which felt like he was bashing an axe against her skull. Ultimately, the Boss needed her whether he liked it or not and Witt was subject to that. At least that gave Jinny some sort of power over them. 

“Did you go over the data?” He inquired, his eyes bored into her even if it was just their reflection.

“Yes.” 

“It was sent last night, are you sure?” His eyes still unblinking made her feel as if he was holding a gun to her head.

“I checked over it this morning, I know what to do,” Jinny said, voice hard and as emotionless as Witt’s eyes.

“I hope your little escapade last night doesn’t hinder your performance,” he jabbed, his eyes moving down slightly undoubtedly zeroing on her neck. “At least have the decency to cover it up.”

Jinny stared boredly back, flicking her fingers in annoyance, but eventually turned away, bending down to her saddle bag laying near her feet. She pulled out a soft, pliable, black silk scarf. She always had one in her bag just in case. If this wasn’t a meeting with the other families to negotiate then she’d usually go without it. She had somewhat of a reputation even spreading outside the inner groups. It wouldn’t do much other than confirm the rumours and reaffirm their perception of her. But with Mr Witt’s leash tied to her today she’d better listen especially if she wanted to get to the meeting with Salicia later. It was the only thing she was looking forward to. 

The business she had to deal with today was going to be somewhat mind numbing. It was a meeting with one of the other gangs, the Reds, to negotiate over their drug tradings. Apparently they had an issue with the increased trade prices this month. Whenever there was anything fickle that came up within the gangs it had to be dealt with immediately, especially if they had any issue with their decisions. The Boss always said that any anomalies in the system were the spring to the flood of rebellion and the ultimately tsunami which would hit the empire. Though for something so trivial in the whole web of things, he delegated the tasks to those below him. Which sometimes meant his dart ended up hitting her.

Negotiating was much too nice of a word for what would actually occur. Decisions were final and no matter what they were not changing just because of some discontent over it. They were going to make that strikingly clear in the upcoming meeting. To even have the audacity to request a meeting to ‘negotiate’ the pricing was ballsy and incredibly naive if the Red’s Boss really thought he could change it. It was uncommon to have a small street gang, which only resided in the parts of the south, to be so resistant. The Boss immediately caught on, though the gang's power was limited it was better to put out the fire before it spread. This was the sole reason why Jinny was being sent to deal with the ignorant Boss of the Red’s. Even the name was stupid, Jinny thought, it was a name that some little boy would come up for his imaginary villain group. 

Jinny was frankly quite bored sitting idly in the back of the car. Sure, she could be going over the information Witt had sent her for the meeting but she had already glossed over it the night before even if she was high and slightly drunk. She still remembered the key details; things like names were irrelevant to her. Jinny decided to pull out her phone. Maybe she could start convincing the Boss to let her go to the meeting with Salicia. Obviously she wasn’t going to explicitly say that she wanted to go meet with some drug runner she’d met last night instead of working. 

She scrolled down her contacts, as she was about to press the call button Witt's voice stopped her. “Who are you calling?”

“None of your business.” Jinny deflected the question, pressing the call button and holding the phone to her ear. Why the hell did he constantly have to stalk her? 

The line didn’t ring for long before the Boss picked up, “You ready for the meeting?” It was always work with him, no need for pleasantries like ‘hello’ or ‘good morning’. Jinny could hear the distant clicking of the keyboard in the background. Busy as always. 

“Yes,” Jinny answered plainly, glancing at Witt’s still watching eyes. 

“Where are you?” his voice was clearly disinterested, probably more focused on whatever he was typing, thick and deep, laced with authority. It was a matured voice, one which has seen the smoke of several cigarettes and battled with the screams of the dying once upon a time.

“We’re in the car.” 

“Good. You know what to do. Make sure they know not to oppose our decisions. Witt is there to help.” Clean cut commands. At least he didn’t jab her about her last night adventures, he surely knew but as long as she didn’t get herself killed or caused a ruckus (which he’d have to cover up for her) there wasn't any reason for him to address it.

“Yes, I know. Actually-” 

“For tonight, your schedule has changed, the tax collection in the East has been moved to tomorrow, one of the casino’s had a raid last night.” Jinny heard him momentarily stop typing. So now the bastard focuses.

“Are you sure they didn’t find anything?” Jinny was a little alarmed at the sudden information, it wasn’t uncommon for raids to occur but it was still one of their links being busted.

“Their connections with us are loose, the police in the East are particularly vulnerable to bribing anyway, The case will be buried in about a day.”

“Okay. Is there something else I’ll be doing then?”

“There’s been some disturbances in income from the arms trafficking branch in Shoreditch.”

“Again?” Jinny intercepted, confused. 

A displeased grunt sounded from the other end, “Though I know you already have a hunch on what may be the cause. But I want you to-”

“Again.” Jinny was unamused at the fact that she had to deal with the same old problems. 

“Don’t give me-”

“I dealt with this last time. There’s nothing to look into; we both know who’s shifting the flow of our money. He’s probably doing it to hoard some more heroin to keep him sane. You should have just let me get rid of him. Tell me why I shouldn’t just blow his brains out.” Jinny gripped the phone hard, annoyed that she even had to encounter such trash. 

“If you didn’t interrupt me I was about to tell you that you can,” the Boss calmly said but there was a slight darkened edge to his voice, either from the fact Jinny interrupted him or the thought of a certain arms dealer was once again taking a bit more than he should. The Boss condemned disloyalty.

Jinny was speechless at the sentence, it took a couple seconds for her to answer back. She heard the clicking of the keyboard resume from the other end. “Why the change in heart? Last time you told me to just discipline him specifically telling me not to kill him. I almost stabbed myself to stop me from stabbing the fucker.”

The Boss chuckled, the sound was slightly chilling like ice in warm water. “You have to have more self control, girl. As for the change, he’s disposable now. I admit I was a bit lenient last time. At the time you were also having issues, don’t you remember? Your reputation was plummeting. Having you kill another reputable member would make things difficult for me and Gabriel did help us expand our arms trading. But this is the ultimate betrayal and cannot be overlooked, especially the fact that our money is being used to finance personal vices. He’s been poking his grubby little fingers all over our income. Our foundations in arms trafficking are secure and I have someone to replace him ready. Do what you want with him, make it clear that we do not tolerate having our earnings being spent on such trivial matters.”

“I’ll make sure to do that,” Jinny couldn’t help be let a giddy smile spread on her face. Finally being able to kill that piece of shit was like a blessing from the heavens. 

“Make sure you don’t screw up the upcoming meeting, Witt will jump in if anything comes up. I’m-” 

Jinny knew he was about to hang up so she quickly jumped in, “Wait! I wanted to ask you something.” Silence answered. Jinny knew this was a bad sign but she continued. “This afternoon, I have something to do so can you clear my schedule?” She tried extra hard to make her voice light and pleasant to please him.

“Specify what exactly you’ll be doing,” he questioned, his voice the same old monotone which meant he wasn’t mad but wasn’t pleased either.

“None of your business,” Jinny retorted immediately but felt a sinking feeling wave through her after the words left her lips. Jinny saw Witt’s eyes glare at her through the rearview mirror at the disrespect she showed. She shouldn’t have said that.

“I think it is my business child. Tell me or the answer is no.” Jinny already felt like the answer was already frozen at a firm no but she’d try damn hard to convince him.

“I’m meeting a person of interest. I feel like she’ll be a good addition. I promise it won’t cause any trouble. So can you clear my schedule, pretty please?” Jinny wanted to internally vomit from the words that left her mouth. She was pleading like a little child but that was usually what the Boss liked from her. She knew the strings and she was going to pull them.

“Good for us or for you?” the Boss was still resistant against her request. Jinny flicked her fingers in annoyance, she was sure a pout was clear on her face. Self centered men. 

“Boss please? If she’s good for me that means she’ll be good for you, no? I have free time during lunch so can’t you just extend it till 5PM? I’ll be at one of the companies so I can spend some time looking over that and make sure things are in order, it’s been a while since you’ve sent anyone to monitor. Somebody else can go over the trading expansion meeting. like Roe or even Mina and report back. Pretty, pretty please Boss? I promise I’ll behave for the next few weeks.” Jinny really was pleading here. She was just meeting some girl, why does he have to make everything about him?

“If you cause any trouble with that newbie of yours, I’ll make sure you have no say in any new members. Got it? Also you better behave, no night outings like yesterday. I need your head on work or this won’t work out.” He hung up. In Jinny’s eyes it was a clear yes. The Boss was never one of relenting so easily especially with the amount of people who try to negotiate with him.

Jinny almost jumped in excitement but instead she pulled up her middle finger at Witt’s watching eyes in the mirror. The man could never keep his eyes off her for two seconds could he? 

“I wouldn’t be so rude if I were you,” he tilted his head slightly -making his eyes slightly wonky- studying her. 

“To you or the Boss, cos’ you don’t need my respect jackass,” Jinny’s joy allowed her to bite back with vigour. “Now that my schedule’s clear this afternoon. Drop me off at the MX company tower instead of the Andress Hotel at lunch. Then you can run along to wherever you need to be.”

“Fine.” Witt reluctantly said with a slight twitch of his eye. He wasn’t pleased that Jinny was able to sway the Boss so easily but his word was incontestable so there was no reason for him to argue with her. “We’re almost there, you better know what you’re doing.”

“Don’t worry, they won’t even try to defy us again.” Jinny pocketed her phone and bent down to rummage through her bag again. She pulled out her gun, a simple and generic Glock 19 - no need to waste the good stuff on an average meeting. 

“Don’t do anything rash,” Witt eyed the gun in her hand. “It’s a meeting not an assassination.”  
“You never know, old man. If I were you I’d bring a gun too. I’m not gonna be there making sure you don’t get your ass killed.” Jinny checked the magazine was full and pocketed the gun in her blazer pocket. At that exact moment a familiar chime rang from her bag. Jinny lips pulled themselves into a smile and she took her company phone out her bag.

~

Salicia awoke to a subtle poking sensation on her back. She turned onto her back and tried to ignore the feeling. Her eyelids were heavy and stuck to each other like magnets. The poking ceased but was replaced with a wave of shaking followed by some words which only registered as incoherent mumbling in her mind. From her lack of reactions the shaking escalated followed by a few weak punches thrown onto her stomach. Sleep was slowly running away from her and Salicia found herself slowly waking. 

Finally she registered what was being said, “Salicia, wake up! It’s seven and I need to go to school. Come on Sally. Wake up, please! I’m hungry.” The whining continued and Salicia opened her eyes to Neveah, who was sitting up straight next to her, petal-like lips pulled into a big pout.

Salicia blinked repeatedly and yawned before saying “Go get ready Neveah and I’ll make you breakfast.”

“But you're still sleeping!” Neveah complained, jumping up and down on the bed causing the frame to shake and creak. Salicia had no choice but to get up. Stretching her back she sat and and pointed at the door. 

“I’m awake, see? Now go and brush your teeth and change, I’ll make you something to eat before you leave.” 

“Okay Sally!” Neveah hopped off the bed and rushed to the door. “I want scrambled eggs!” she added before she left. 

We don’t even have eggs, Salicia thought as she stared at her door - ajar as Neveah never remembered to close it. She stood up from her bed and walked over to her wardrobe, shrugged off yesterday's clothes and tugged on a pair of muddy green cargo pants and a plain thin black t-shirt. It was far too cold to walk out with just a tee so Salicia layered on top her usual hoodie which was in need of washing but another day wouldn’t hurt. Salicia approached her desk to grab her backpack which held today’s job list. She stole a glance at the drawing of Jinny from last night. She’d have to hurry in order to make the pick up for the day. 

Getting stuck with the morning jobs were such a pain in the ass. Can’t she have just a bit more sleep for once? She hurried into the kitchen scavenge for anything that would make a decent breakfast for Neveah before she went to school and if there was enough left for herself she’d like to not start the day on an empty stomach but that was unlikely. 

The only items Salicia found were: the loaf of stale bread she’d purchased the night before, an almost empty box of cinnamon cereal and an odd jar of strawberry and persimmon purée a few weeks past its best before date. Salicia opened and sniffed it. It smelt sweet and tangy. It looked fine despite the label saying otherwise but as long as it smelt and looked fine Salicia considered it safe. She knew Neveah would be more likely to consume the cereal so she poured it into one of the few bowls they had. There was no milk so Neveah would have to eat it like crisps. As for Salicia she’d have to settle with a slice of stale bread with the strawberry purée thing. Well it was better than nothing. 

After spreading the strawberry thing on her bread -untoasted as they didn’t have the luxury of owning a toaster- Neveah came walking into the kitchen school bag in tow. Upon seeing the bowl of cereal she started then turned to Salicia narrowing her eyes lips in a pout. 

“We don’t have any eggs Neveah, so you either eat that or nothing,” Salicia stated pointing at the bowl. 

“Fine,” Neveah relented, picking up a piece of cereal and tossing it into her mouth which made a satisfying crunching sound. She continued to munch on the cereal whilst Salicia nibbled on her toast. Whatever she had put atop it tasted sour and sweet; it wasn’t bad but it was a strange taste especially when mixed with the processed white bread. “Are you taking me to school today Sally?” Neveah suddenly said, causing Salicia to turn to look at her popping the last of the crust of the bread into her mouth.. They were eating standing on the kitchen counter due to the lack of dining facilities. 

“No I have work. Tell my mum to take you.”

Neveah immediately frowned at that and picked mindlessly at her cereal. “But I want you to take me. You never take me to school anymore and mum doesn’t like taking me.”

Salicia placed a hand on her sister’s head in a comforting gesture. “I wish I could take you Neveah but you know I can’t. After you finish your breakfast go ask mum to take you.” Neveah flicked a piece of cereal which sent it flying onto the counter. “Mum never likes going anywhere anyway,” Salicia added, mumbling under her breath.

“Okay. But promise me you’ll take me soon Sally?” Neveah looked up at her sister, eyes hopeful.

Salicia internally sighed knowing that it was unlikely that she would be able to take Neveah to school anytime soon - as long as she was stuck with the morning runs.“Okay. Yes I’ll take you soon,” Salicia lied. The way Neveah’s face brightened instantly from her words, smiling so wide her teeth showed, Salicia fely guilt dig into her gut.

Both the girls finished eating and Salicia dumped the plates into the sink hoping that maybe, maybe her mum would have the decency to wash them. Which was as likely as winning the lottery. Neveah followed her like a puppy as Salicia made her way to the door. “See ya Neveah!” she said when she was about to leave. Neveah waved her small palm in goodbye as she closed the door. 

~

Salicia was making her way to Islington to collect her supply. It was too risky and -probably- an inconvenience for the gang to supply her with drugs directly from her trips to the base. Instead she always went to get her exact supply for the day from Cook. Who was her supplier which she had to visit every day in order for her to do her runs. It was all a very roundabout system. However it ensured Salicia did her work as Cook could keep track of who turned up. Quite frankly she didn’t know much about Cook. Every time she visited him he wore a balaclava covering the whole of his face like those mobsters from movies. She never got more than five steps into his establishment before he shoved the drugs into her hands and sent her on her way. In all honesty Salicia liked it better that way. Quick and simple. In and out. It made her feel as if she was being protected from the real malice lying beneath her work. Giving a little bit more separation. It lessened the impact of it all. 

Salicia was boredly spectating the streets outside the bus window. She rode the bus to Islington as she knew she’d spend the rest of the day walking or usually running around (fitting for her job description) the city so at least she could save her leg strength for that instead. There wasn’t anything particularly intriguing outside. She rode the same bus every day and somehow nothing ever seemed to change. Salicia pulled out her phone for the first time, deciding to check for anything important. She didn’t have much data -one giga byte at most and only twenty minutes call time- as she wasn’t able to afford it. Her phone was barren of any games and such. There really was no point in wasting her data on it. Salicia was happy enough to even own a phone and functioned properly and wasn’t one of those brick phones from the 1900s. 

As she opened her phone the small notification on her messaging app caught her eye immediately. Clicking on it revealed a message from Jinny. Salicia hastily read the text. Once, then twice, then a third time. She stared, eyes scanning carefully over each word, unsure what to think. Jinny wanted to meet her, today! Salicia was profoundly happy but slightly weary. Was she really qualified? I don’t have any ID. The realisation rained on her skin and stung. Salicia tried to remember if she had any type of ID to show that wasn’t a fraud and an actual person. Biting her lips in frustration Salicia began to type a response. She timorously typed, removing words and rewriting then finally rereading the text at least ten times before hitting send.

Of course I’m available, I’ll meet you outside the company at 2PM. However I don’t have any ID, is this a major issue? Sorry. I am not sure what to write but what should my resume have? I don’t have one either. If this is a major issue and the offer is not available anymore than its fine. Thank you for the opportunity. 

Salicia sighed loudly in frustration. Followed by embarrassment when she remembered she was on a bus in public, thankfully people were scarce. She didn’t have anything. Salicia knew her chances of getting the job had significantly decreased. She knew she shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up so quickly. There was a very slim chance though. Salicia mapped out her timetable in her head. Miraculously, she had some free time between her runs from one till four. Even with that fact Salicia decided not to keep her hopes up too high. Now she was thoroughly sure she was unqualified for the job. Defeated she shut her phone and shoved it back into her pocket. 

She glanced outside the window as the bus stopped. Shit! It was her stop, she bolted up from her seat and scrambled quickly to the doors which were starting to close. She stepped through the door threatening to close on her. Her body slipped through skimming the doors, she almost cheered in relief but suddenly something shocked her movement.

Her backpack was bitten down by the doors. She pulled on it desperately trying to tug it out to no avail. She tugged and tugged like a dog tugging on its leash. The bus driver seemed to not notice or care. Distressed Salicia resorted to banging on the bus door. “I’m sorry sir but can you open the door! My backpack is stuck!” Salicia shouted in between tugging on her backpack. She was well aware that she must have looked pretty stupid but she wasn’t going to give up on the only backpack she had. It had her job list too and that was definitely not something she should lose. Pounding on the door repeatedly resulted in a dirty glare from the passengers but by grace of god or her own humiliation the doors widened. Salicia pulled her backpack out and bolted down the street to Cook’s house, not wanting to witness the leers from the passengers, driver and any other bypassers. She was already embarrassed enough and their looks would just add more fuel into the burning fire ignominy.

After waking up late, the bus incident and her own tiredness Salicia was a little late. Which meant about thirty minutes late. Her watch showed the minute hand approaching closer to the number six prompting her to increase her pace as she walked to Cook’s house. The area was decent, the row of apartments were well kept and the area was clean; there were even trees lining the sidewalk for a touch of greenery in the midst of the drab grey streets of London. Cook’s door was the fifth one down the row of apartments, a nondescript black door with the metal plated numbers ‘26’ bolted on the front. 

She strided up to the door and knocked. Whilst waiting for a response, Salicia avoided looking at the door and stuffed her fidgety hands into her pockets. She was half an hour late which would definitely welcome a wave of disappointed lecturing from Cook. Granted Cook never really said much, mostly grunting in response to questions and shooing her away after she collected the day’s supplies. It wasn’t often that Salicia was late so she was still pricked by nervousness. Her first run was due at nine forty so at least she wasn’t late for an actual trade off. Strangely today Cook was taking much longer than usual to answer. Salicia lifted her hand to knock again. As she was about to knock the door opened just an inch. Salicia tensed at the sudden movement. At the small opening she saw Cook’s eye peering at her, the rest of his face covered in a blanket of darkness. 

“Today’s cancelled kid,” he said, his voice muffled by the balaclava.

“What?” Salicia blurted stunned by his words.

“You’ve got a break kid. Now run along and get outta here,” Cook reiterated, about to shut the door.

“Wait, so I-” Salicia started but was cut off by the shutting of the door. Rude. Salicia stared, flummoxed at the close door. Now what? The sudden cancellation of her day’s work left Salicia unoccupied and too free that she felt uncomfortable. Salicia knew that a girl staring at a close door would be a strange sight so, for a start, she made her way to the bus stop again. She’d figure out what to do while she walked.

Turns out a walk isn’t enough time for Salicia to get her thoughts sorted out. She had limited money and no other commitments to use up her time. Maybe she should’ve taken Neveah to school after all. Jinny still hasn’t replied to her text but the meeting wasn’t till two either way. The woman was probably busy working an actual reputable job after all. Salicia made it all the way back to the bus stop but had not a single clue on what she should do. She didn’t want to go home as there was nothing to do other than draw; the extra trip home and back out again wasn’t worth the hassle. Sighing Salicia sat down on the hard worn bus seat, the red colour dying out into an off-yellow. 

Salicia looked up to the sky wondering what on earth she should do. At times like this she truly realised her feeble existence in the in between. It was a resist and pull situation. Salicia was resisting the dark hand that she’d voluntarily let take hold of her foot but she wondered what happened when the hand gained too much strength or she became too weak to resist its pull. She hated ever having to think about it. Most of the time she slapped it away in favour of thinking that she would exist like this till the day she died because at least she wouldn’t be a bad person. She was just another flower in the wrong field hoping nobody would notice and pluck her out.

After minutes of pondering Salicia finally pulled out her phone. She read back over the texts with Jinny. What caught her attention was the fact that the MX Company was located in the City of London. Salicia had travelled there a few times for trade offs with wealthier clients but she never really got the chance to explore the vast business hub. Salicia hopped off the bus seat startling the old woman beside her. She bowed apologetic before walking away. She looked up the directions and set on her path. There may not be anything exciting but it was a better use of her time than just walking around aimlessly. And if Jinny still wants to meet her that was a plus. Salicia looked down at her phone and smiled. Maybe a day off would be nice. 

~

They arrived early. Witt was always one to make sure they looked competent which also meant dragging Jinny out early. If Jinny wasn’t hungover she’d be on board with going early but Jinny was indeed slightly hungover, a headache simmering in the back of her head. She didn’t even have the chance to have her usual cup of tea. Should have taken some fucking painkillers. 

The meeting place was a shabby hole in the wall, a decrepit laundromat. The chauffeur opened the door for her. She couldn’t hold her scowl as she stepped out of the car. The letter board was so worn the only thing visible was a faint outline of an L and M, the other letters poisoned by the swamp green background. The sight hurt her eyes. Couldn’t they have chosen a better meeting place? Jinny thought, though the lowlifes that operated around here probably felt right at home in this trash hole. Jinny opened the door, the window glass patterned by cracks. Witt followed after giving some instructions to the chauffeur, who promptly nodded and returned back into the car. Jinny scanned the interior. It was a quaint establishment more of a facade to hide the black dealings taking place beneath. None of the washing machines housed any laundry and by the state of them Jinny didn’t think they could even turn on.

Witt walked past her toward an old woman sitting behind the register. She seemed to be dazed and hazy, her eyes not quite focusing on anything. She didn’t even glance at her or Witt as he spoke to her. Her white hair was disheveled and thinning, her scalp was visible beneath the strands. Her mouth was slightly agape revealing gaps in her rotting yellow teeth. Jinny was definitely sure the old hag was high. After Witt says that they’re here for a meeting with the young sir -Jinny almost snorted at the formality- the old woman’s eyes focused on Jinny.

“Ah a pretty girl like you would be perfect for the young sir,” she said with a lisp, words tumbling together. 

Jinny stared back in disgust.“Shut up you old hag.” Witt whipped his head and looked at her, narrowing his eyes in warning.

The old woman seemed to be too delirious to fully respond to her or maybe she was too deaf to hear. She looked like she was about to go rambling on about something before the side door flung open. A figure emerged from the back room. A middle aged man in a plain creased black suit eyed them, particularly Jinny who stood in the middle of the room. In response she gave him a hard stare. He seemed to either want to beat her or fuck her but the facial expressions of bruts were very limited.

“We’re here for the meeting,” Witt cut through their staring contest. 

“The boss is waiting for you downstairs,” the man said before disappearing behind the door probably going to notify the young sir of their arrival. 

“Stop being so antagonising,” he warned before starting towards the side door. Jinny wanted to retort but the old woman started rambling again.

“I used to be pretty like you. The young sir will really like you sweety,” the old woman was getting on her nerves. Jinny wasn’t about to let herself be a plaything for that bastard of a boss. She hadn’t even met him yet and she already couldn’t stand him. Jinny was so sick of everyone constantly viewing her as just a pretty girl. Jinny walked up to her as the woman gave her a crooked smile. 

Jinny sneered in disgust, hooking her foot under one of the legs of the chairs she was sagging on. She swiftly kicked the chair causing the old hag to collapse in a crumpled heap on the floor. She didn’t miss the dull sound her body made when it made impact with the floor. The woman laid stationary on the ground, face still in a drug induced daydream. “Should have shut your mouth,” Jinny remarked, quickly turning away from her and walking into the side door, finally going to the meeting. 

The boss was young like she was expecting and just as ugly as she was expecting. His thin figure and gaunt pale face weren’t very attractive. He was sitting on a leather couch, as was she, facing each other with a small wooden coffee table between them. The leather was fake, it was obvious the colour was too perfect, too smooth with none of the variety of textures and unique patterning that real living leather has. She studied him as she sat, relaxed, one leg on top the other.. He seemed weak, no evident muscle, thin untouched fingers and transparent lips. Jinny sat alone with Witt behind her to spectate as well as give the usual points on profit and dealings and stock and other shit like that. Jinny had learnt and knew the importance of the business. Their whole empire functioned well because of it, but it didn't make it any less tedious to deal with. 

Behind the young boss -Jinny couldn’t be asked to remember his name- was the middle aged man that she saw earlier. He was much buffer than his supposed boss and she could see the faint outline of a gun in his blazer. His bodyguard she supposed, from his figure he probably needed someone to protect him. Weak. Jinny almost scoffed but made sure she seemed composed; she didn’t want to piss him off or rather his bodyguard. Well they wouldn’t be able to do much.

“I wasn’t expecting to see some girl being sent to meet me. I wanted a member not a prostitute,” the boss jabbed. His voice was deeper than she expected.

Jinny stared boredly back unamused at the comment. “I can assure you she is capable of handling your hindrance. You wanted to discuss our drug deal, yes?” 

“You shouldn’t have an issue with anything,” Jinny added, she knew Witt was looking at her disapprovingly. 

“I must disagree girl, I do indeed have an issue. Particularly with your increased sell rate. Our group has been working for Axiom for years. I’ve been loyal, paid your tax and also made you profit. Why has your boss increased the price?” he arched an eyebrow. 

“It sounds like you’re implying that you can’t pay up,” Jinny relaxed even deeper into the fake leather sofa.

“Of course I can pay up, but isn’t it absurd that the price has increased? I’m sure loads of your connections aren’t happy either they’re just too scared to admit it.” 

“The increase is for both our benefits, we’re your suppliers no one else has production and connections like ours,” Jinny stated formally. “It isn’t your choice whether you like it or not. Demand is increasing lately so the increase shouldn’t be an issue if your buy rate is high enough. Is it not?” Jinny questioned confidently. 

“Your fucking family are taking too much tax, increasing the pricing and also kicking our asses with your fucking minimum rates! You expect me not to have a problem with that?”

“Yes,” Jinny folded her hands in her lap, unaffected by his outburst. “So suck it up.” Witt hasn’t said a word which was a good indication that she was allowed to do whatever she deemed best. 

“You fuckers! Listen. Me and my gang are a loyal asset to you, can’t you revert the drug pricing for us?”

“You think you’re important huh? Listen here, we supply you, we give you resources, we bail you out of shit if you need it, we protect your business. And you dare question our decisions?”

“I don’t think your boss understands that we’re the ones making your money. Especially if he’s sending some inexperienced brat to deal with this.”

Jinny’s hand twitched, eyes hard and soulless. “Let me give you a few pointers on how this works. You’re supposed to listen to us. We support your business and you’re supposed to be able to adapt. If not we wouldn’t think twice about disposing of you. I-” 

“As if-” he interrupted her.

“Shut your mouth you bastard,” Jinny seethed. The man was arrogant and pissing her off. “Your profits have been dropping since last year. You’ve lost more than fifty percent of your drug clientele due to your misconduct, more than thirty percent of your stock has been stolen and you still haven’t invested in any other dealings. You thrive off our drug ring and your turnover is not enough for how much we supply you. You’ve had so many chances to help yourself and you haven’t expanded your business. We need people to maximise profit not play boss. And you think you’re important to us?”

His face went stiff for a second before he gritted his teeth clearly mad. “You fucking bastards. Decrease the price.”

“You’ve got no place to tell us what to do.” Jinny stood up about to end the meeting, thinking she made her point clear. 

Suddenly the bodyguard pulled out his gun at her. “Decrease the price.” He repeated. 

Jinny was unfazed even as the bodyguard’s eyes bored into her, his gun locked onto her. “Aren’t you just pathetic.” She rolled her eyes and sat back down as a precaution not wanting to get shot quite just yet. The gun was still pointed at her. “Is your business failing? Is that why you’re so desperate to lower the price?”

He simply glared at her in response.

“Shooting her won’t prompt us to decrease the drug pricing. You’ll be removed completely.” Witt intervened, clearly explaining the repercussions. Jinny was fuming with the young boss. The motherfucker had the audacity to pull a gun at her for what? For his own failings? His contempt against the family? 

After a few seconds of silence the boss gestured for the bodyguard to lower the gun. Jinny scowled at him as the gun was lowered from her. “Ah, guess you know how to listen. Now listen to this. We do not tolerate anyone questioning our decisions. Your business isn’t profiting us as much as we need it too.” Jinny stood. “Want to know why you inherited such a shitpile? Because your predecessor was a fucker who didn’t follow the rules.” She glared right into his eyes. To her own amusement the piece of shit glared back with eyes filled with red. She needed to teach him a few things. “Now listen to this closely you arrogant bastard.” She pulled out her gun easily. However she didn’t point it at him but rather the bodyguard knowing he was a bigger threat. 

She pulled the trigger. The sound boomed within the room like a crack of a whip. A heavy thump followed by a metallic clank sounded. The bodyguard was groaning on the floor. Blood was seeping, red like wine, from his neck. He gurgled, his throat filled with blood which spilled relentlessly from the wound. Jinny couldn’t help but be mesmerised by the sight. The way the man’s body trembled in pain, the blood, so much blood, flowed like water from a tap. It was such a beautiful dark red. She eventually tore her eyes away from the soon to be dead bodyguard and watched in amusement as the so-called boss looked at her speechless. 

“What is Axiom’s number one rule?” Jinny looked down condescendingly at him.

The boss looked up to her, eyes void. “To give our undying loyalty to Axiom and make sure they benefit from us.”

“Have you been loyal? Have you been running your gang in our interest?” Jinny aimed the gun at him now. He was starting to tremble, clenching his jaw. Jinny wanted to laugh at how he was reduced to a frightened child at the sight of a gun aimed at him.

He opened his mouth to respond. “Please. Miss-”

A gunshot cut him off. He wailed, collapsing sideways on the couch nursing his leg. He panted in pain, short breaths like a dog. Jinny chuckled unable to hold it in. It was such a delightful sight, Jinny gazed and drank the sight in. The ruby blood that was staining his hand was shining and Jinny had the urge to touch it. But she didn't want to touch the bastard’s filthy being. She pocketed her gun. 

“Wait. Please-” He struggled to get his words out, wheezing in pain. Jinny ignored him, walking away, before she was tempted to shoot him again. Boots knocking harshly on the floor. 

“We’ll be replacing you.” She heard Witt say as she walked towards the door, kicking the dead guard’s hand out her path. 

“No!” She heard before opening the door and leaving, uninterested in what he had to say. 

Reemerging into the laundromat was just as unpleasant as the first time she entered. However this time the old woman wasn’t sitting on the chair, she was still on the floor. Jinny didn’t bother to check whether the hag was still breathing. Whoever would be sent to clean up the mess downstairs could take care of her.

As Jinny stepped out the musty laundromat she was greeted with the cool breeze laced with the subtle smell of sewage and trash. Her car pulled up in front of her almost instantaneously. The chauffeur opened the door for her as if she were royalty and she stepped in with Witt entering not too later after her. 

The silence was uncanny after what had happened. The sound of the tires on the road was like eerie static from a broken TV. The sort of sound that was meant to punctuate terror in someone’s bones. For Jinny though she wasn’t terrified in the slightest. Just a little confused as the why Witt hasn’t started reprimanding her for being so ‘reckless’ and ‘stupid’. Truthfully Jinny didn’t think the meeting would end with one dead body and one body with a less functioning leg. Jinny was simply impatient especially with pricks who didn't know their place. Sure with a little more time she could’ve convinced the guy to accept the increase and fuck off but it was more time than it was worth. Jinny read over the data on the Reds; it was clear they weren’t profiting as much as they could be from them. Their turnover rates were decreasing lately. Removing the so-called boss and replacing him with someone more able would benefit them much more. It was like removing old dirt and replanting the trees which would help them bloom much more than before. 

One problem was that Witt hated having to clean up after her. Which happened more often than not. 

So for Witt to not start telling her what a bad choice she made left Jinny slightly confused. She stared at him like a cat through the rearview mirror.

“You’ll have to find someone capable of replacing him. I’ll make sure the Red’s business is taken care of until there’s a new boss,” Witt said calmly, maybe even a little -Jinny wanted to laugh- unconcerned for once. 

“Why aren’t you up my ass for shooting them?” It may have been stated a little crudely but Jinny really wanted to know whether he was being nice or was he just so done with her shit he’d rather ignore it. 

“For once, I think you did the right thing. I-”

Jinny scoffed immediately. “Really,” she drawled.

“The profit decrease, the lack of business expansion, the low turnover rates, the obvious attitude against Axiom. For Don to be removed would have been the best option. I don't really care if you did it by shooting them or leaving them for the Boss to deal with.” Witt actually knew the poor bastard’s name whilst Jinny couldn't even imagine wasting time on such trivial information.

“Okay. Great.” Jinny was secretly proud that she did something he agreed with for once. She didn't want to be too obvious, rather hiding her happiness behind a curtain, tucked beneath her stone face. 

“You’ll have to manage who will be replacing him though. I already called the Boss and he expects you to find someone suitable before tonight. Make sure to call him when you find someone,” he instructed. Jinny was fine with finding someone else, she had plenty of people who would be perfectly suitable for the job. She had time to fill before she met with Salicia now with her schedule cleared.

“Sure.” Jinny plainly answered just out of necessity. As for Salicia. Jinny remembered the scared girl’s teary eyes when presented with some money. The relief and happiness was so pure like white on black. The fact that she’d accepted such a shady offer had Jinny feeling a little giddy, sort of high. Not on cocaine but on naïveté. Maybe this could give her a little reprise from the monotony, the dull ache by covering it with another’s. It was cruel, what Jinny did to people. She was the furthest from a saint. She was some sort of demon. Even Jinny truly believed that she wasn’t human in a way. If psychopaths could exist so could demons. Not everyone was a person. 

Jinny pulled out her phone to the text Salicia had replied. It made her heart leap in excitement. The type of happiness akin to catching a rabbit in a snare. So easy. Truthfully she didn’t exactly know what she was going to do with Salicia. She usually didn’t take an interest in people so easily. Even with the people she decided she wanted to pick apart for fucking fun. She always had some sort of connection to them, seen them multiple times, made sure they really were what she wanted before picking. She never did it on whim. So Salicia was the new star in Jinny’s sky of sins and Jinny wasn’t sure what it’s name was yet.

So -as she impulsively chose her- she’d have to think a little more to know what the hell she actually wanted to do with the girl. And that was also partly attributed by the fact that she didn’t have nearly enough information about her. She’d offered the promises of a job from simple deduction. The rag tag outfit, the young pure eyes, her desperate battle against the mayor's not so righteous nephew. Sure, the girl’s stupid nature and -inevitably- weak resolve was the catalyst to peaking her interest. How could someone so weak be so unscathed by her own endeavours? For the short time Jinny had interacted with Salicia, the girl didn’t exactly show any peculiarities nor did she have any particularly interesting features visually either. Even to herself Jinny was quite confused on why she decided to toy with such a seemingly dull person. 

Reading over the text Jinny chuckled at how Salicia was so awkward and worried about her offer. The girl had no ID or resume or quite frankly anything probably. If the job was actually legitimate she wouldn’t stand a chance. No wonder she was a drug runner, Jinny thought. 

“What are you smiling about?” Jinny looked up from her phone to see the familiar eyes of Witt observing her.

“Stupid people,” Jinny returned her attention to her phone, typing out a reply swiftly. Jinny was sure Witt was narrowing his eyes at her for the nth time of the day but she’d rather not acknowledge it.

“You’re messing around again.”

“So what if I am?” 

“The Boss wouldn’t be happy if he found out.”

“If.” Jinny punctuated the word clearly, “is the special word there Witt. Even if he does know, what difference does it make?”

“Miss Jinny, I advise you against your little side projects and focus on your work.” He addressed her formally for once, even if the firm edge to his voice was clearly evident, it was clear that he was actually trying to convince her.

“It won’t get in the way of anything. It wasn’t an issue before so why are you being such a prick about it?” Jinny sent the text and began looking through her emails with little interest to just direct her attention away from Witt.

“The Boss is not pleased that you occupy your time with such frivolous activities.” 

“The Boss is never fucking pleased so there’s really no point in trying. Besides, I still do my shit and it’s never fucked anything up so I recommend you shut your mouth or I’ll shred your tongue.” Jinny threatened even though she knew she’d be a corpse in no time if she messed with Witt. But the fact didn’t make her any less antagonistic against him. If she couldn’t kill him, she’d fantasise it verbally instead.

To his credit he only replied with, “We’ll drop you off at your company.”

Jinny won. And Jinny always wins. Maybe that made her a brat but Jinny liked winning. She didn’t know what it was like to lose. Morbidly she’d wonder if losing would feel better than winning just because winning had become so common to her like sand on a beach. She wondered how much it would hurt to lose. Would it be fun to lose? But Jinny couldn’t lose even if some dark part of her wanted to because she had too much pride, too much reputation to even let herself be close to losing. She’d do anything to win. 

During the car ride -the morning work traffic starting to set in on the streets- she distracted herself with menial tasks of reading emails, and texts and writing documents as if she were an office worker. Except she wasn’t in an office but a Mercedes-Benz A-Class Sedan in black. Which is arguably more desirable than an office. But everything was limited when it was just her phone. Some tasks required her actual computer so Jinny ran out of things to do and actual will to do them quicker. Instead she decided to make herself a little more acquainted with a certain drug runner called Salicia. However that would require an extra resource to help her. Jinny knew she’d be able to get a lot of information on the girl later when she met her but she wanted to make sure she got more. Because Jinny needed to know more, she wanted to make sure she was in control of whatever she was doing. Her control was an insatiable greed.

Her fingers wandered down to a contact named ‘M’ which she called. The line rang for a little longer than she wanted but eventually someone picked up.

“I’m on a job so why the hell are you calling me?” A woman’s voice answered, it was loud and a little too vivacious.

“Hello to you too. I want you to do something for me when you’re done,” Jinny flicked her fingers in slight annoyance as she answered the woman.

“Why? Get someone else to do it I’m busy,” the voice answered, a little whiny like a child complaining.

“You should be done by now, surely he wasn’t that difficult to get him hard in his pants? Or are you losing your appeal?” Jinny mocked, half her conversations with M were always filled with crude jabs at each other.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t even be able to turn them on even if you tried. I’m just about done, got the shit, fucked the guy, make sure you do cover work correctly this time, got it? The Boss will have your ass for dinner if you fuck it up,” M warned, being present when Jinny got reprimanded at that last blunder.

“Don’t worry you big old head off about it, I made sure everything is covered up. And the Boss can’t do much to me anyway.” Jinny was a little appreciative that the woman even cared even if she was in more danger than Jinny was. “Anyways. I want you to stop by The Double Dice Casino on your way back. I want you to give a job to IQ.”

“Who are you stalking this time?” The voice inquired, suddenly interested.

“Just some girl,” she answered vaguely. “I’ll send you the info later in the afternoon. Your train is at two right?”

“Yep, you better send me a photo too. I wanna see who you decide to pick up this time.”

“She isn’t exactly a catch in that department M.”

“Then what’s the fucking point?”

“They’re not gonna be my fucking sex toy you dirty slut.”

“And who hired this whore. You did! I’ve gotta bolt. Don’t forget to send me a pic, see you!” She hung up. She saw Witt visibly frown, eyebrows bunched up together but she ignored it.

Jinny scoffed but the smile that made its way on her face juxtaposed it. Conversations with M were wild, a ray of sun at night, snow on a beach. It was something Jinny needed sometimes to offset dullness that set in every once in a while. But, she was overbearing and got on Jinny’s nerves more often than not. That fact alone made sure that there was a particular distance between them. 

After hanging up, a notification appeared on her phone. Salicia had texted back: Thank you so much for the opportunity! You don’t know how much this means to me so thanks for giving me a chance. Are you sure it’s okay that I don’t have any documents? Looking forward to meeting you

Precious, Jinny thought to herself before texted back a simple: It’s absolutely fine don’t worry, I’ll see you later this afternoon.

~

Turns out Salicia stuck out like a sore thumb in the heart of London’s business centre. She was like a piece of dirt in the middle of a crisp white carpet. Her: in her shabby old hoodie and jeans topped off with a wrecked backpack -even more after the horrendous bus incident- and them: the businessmen and women, in their freshly ironed suits, luxury briefcases and handbags and fresh clean hair. Salicia wanted to scowl at all of them out of shitty spite. She knew how many of these people indulged themselves on something not so pure. The amount of people in suits that she ran for over the years was probably enough to fill one of the mountainous towers looming over her. 

Something inside of her hoped that Jinny wasn’t one of them.

Salicia wandered around for hours, ignoring all the strange stares she got from people on the street. She may not be here to work but couldn’t they just leave her alone instead of staring at her? The skyscrapers that she only ever heard about gleamed in the daylight; they were astounding and Salicia couldn’t help but stand and breathe in the view. Tucking the view into a page of her brain to reference later. Her janky phone camera would not do it justice so Salicia settled with absorbing the image into her being. As she walked down the streets, the air felt different. It felt old but also new. The mixture of the city’s history swirled with the new world was entrancing to Salicia. Her legs took her wherever she deemed interesting, her eyes scanned over her surroundings. She almost felt like she was a tourist in a new city.  
As Salicia was admiring the intricate design of St Paul’s Cathedral a chime from her phone snapped her out of her gazing. Salicia was slightly annoyed by being interrupted as she pulled out her phone but it was quickly replaced with nervousness as she realised Jinny had texted her back. The origins of her anxiousness was the fact that Jinny may have texted back that she was cancelling the meeting and was withdrawing her offer. Salicia pursed her lips as she opened up the message. As she read the relief washed over her like a wintry breeze. She still wants to meet me thank god. 

Did people get jobs like this? She wasn’t even quite sure what the job entailed which may be a little worrying but Salicia focused on the fact she even had a chance.

Pushing the thoughts away, Salicia continued her expedition, wanting to make the most of her time here as well as see as much as she could in case she didn’t come back for a while. 

Hours passed of Salicia mindlessly walking around the city. She passed what looked like a shopping district, countless high-end looking restaurants and hipster coffee places, ridiculously tall office buildings, their windows reflecting the light like jewels. At some point the sudden sound of a police siren almost made her piss herself until she remembered she wasn’t even ‘working’. 

Salicia was awkwardly walking around the MX company building which really had no indication that it was even the MX company’s building. The outside of the building was blank; just another towering building that blended in with the others. She’d gotten some instructions from Jinny after she’d texted her for some help which was kind of embarrassing. The woman texted back immediately with clear instructions that Salicia easily followed. So as Salicia waited for Jinny to arrive she walked around in circles near the building to distract herself. She was sure that she looked strange but the way the guards outside the building looked at her made her want to dig herself into a grave. Avoiding their gazes Salicia settled for walking around the vicinity like a lost dog. 

“I think you can stop walking around now,” Salicia flinched at the voice, snapping her out of her nervous daze. Salicia was so deep inside her own head that she didn’t even see the woman approach her. Salicia turned and gave a sheepish smile trying to brush off her own embarrassment. Why was Salicia constantly caught red handed in the strangest situations by the woman? 

Realising she hadn’t said anything in response she quickly said, “Sorry, just nervous.”

“That I wouldn’t show up?” Jinny added, sounding a little hurt.

“No! No, I didn’t mean it like that. I was talking about the guards.” Salicia meekly pointed at the threatening figures standing like toy soldiers in front of the glass doors. 

“Ah, don’t worry about them.” Jinny nodded in acknowledgement. “Security is always tight around here for safety reasons. As long as you aren’t suspicious they wouldn’t bat an eye.” 

“But I am suspicious! They kept staring at me.”

Jinny laughed lightly, a breathy sound escaping the small opening between her pink glossy lips. “I guess that can’t be helped. Just walk with me and it’ll be fine. Though, I would suggest you buy a few nicer clothes to add to your closet, if you can of course.” At that Salicia took in Jinny’s outfit today. In contrast to last night she was dressed much more formally. A black blazer, with only the middle buttoned, a pair of perfectly ironed black slacks loosely framing her legs and a white dress shirt revealing itself beneath the blazer. A black scarf was neatly wrapped against her neck - a luscious accessory. She looked like the epitome of a business woman: professional and commanding; the exact opposite of Salicia. Who looked vulnerable, grimy and poor. The type of person who didn’t belong in this type of environment. Like a shard of glass piercing her skin Salicia saw the wide distance between her and Jinny. She didn’t even know why she was so devastated by the realisation. 

Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, Salicia opted to avert her eyes to the buildings around which she had already stared at for almost an hour. “Follow me,” Jinny commanded and started walking to the entrance of the giant glass building. Salicia followed behind her like a lost child.

When they approached the guard outside the door, to Salicia bewilderment, they bowed and even opened the door for her or more likely Jinny. She clearly had a position of authority. The door handles were gold and glistening, they looked like authentic gold bars. Salicia admired them -trying to ignore the guards- as she walked through. Inside it was sleek and modern and the very air felt different, holding the essence of professionality and money. Salicia felt chills as she took in the interior. The floor was made out of smooth and perfectly white tiles, the walls ran up high with the occasional black stripe accenting the white walls and windows, a few leather lounges were placed around the entrance hall. Salicia was sure her mouth was wide open in surprise but she couldn’t care less as she marvelled at the spectacular design. She’d never seen anything like it in her life.

“Like it?”

“Huh?” Salicia unintentionally blurted, Shutting her mouth sheepishly she replied, “It’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Jinny flashed a smile which Salicia returned and guided her towards the reception.

The reception was alive with a dozen workers in identical suits clicking away at their computers or intersecting with visitors. 

“Our company has a lot of links with other companies who we work with as a result we regularly attract many visitors daily who come for business deals and meetings. Which is why we have such a large reception.” Jinny guided an awestruck Salicia to the left of the reception. “The right wing of the building is specifically for visitors and associates. We have a lot of contracts with other companies and as there's so many people we made the right wing of the company specifically for them. This makes sure we don’t have any confusion or mix up of work. It also makes sure all our workers can concentrate on their work and not be distracted by people coming in and out constantly. The main offices are located in the left wing”

“That’s cool!” She exclaimed like an excited child. Salicia was amazed at how the company ran. It was obvious that the MX company was very influential and the fact that Salicia could even have an insight had her on the tip of her toes in excitement. Instead of the nervous energy she had inside her earlier she was overwhelmed by interest and bewilderment.  
“Cool indeed.” Jinny -seemingly- playfully replied. Salicia grinned at the response. They walked and were met with a row of turnstiles. Salicia stopped abruptly. Sensing her apprehension Jinny grabbed her arm lightly and guided her to one of the turnstiles. “Don’t worry I have a mastercard.” Salicia wasn’t quite sure what that meant. Jinny fed the card into the reader however it didn’t release from the other side. The glass doors opened a bell chime sounding as they opened smoothly. Jinny pulled Salicia along with her as she passed through. On the other side Jinny typed in a chain of numbers, her fingers moved so quickly that Salicia couldn’t follow them. The doors closed and finally the machine handed back the card.

As Jinny pocketed the card Salicia asked, “Are you sure this is okay?” Frightfully aware of the security camera installed at the corner pillar near them.

“Sure, why wouldn’t it be?” Jinny added a rebuttal, tilting her head in confusion. 

“Because I don’t work here?”

“But you will be.” Salicia eyes widened in surprise, her next words evaporated from her tongue. Jinny flashed her a knowing smile. “Just follow me.”

Once again Salicia found herself mindlessly following Jinny. The left wing was in a similar style except the walls were made out of a glowing cream marble. There were less windows and more lights fixed on the ceiling in hexagon shapes. They entered a hallway which led to a lift. 

The hallway was one of the most elegant and sophisticated things Salicia had ever seen. The floor was patterned in an intricate but simple design. Black stone was woven delicately with the white marble to produce an intriguing but fitting pattern which flowed along the stretch of the hallway. The sides were lined with water that glided forward slowly. Slowing rushing water was a calming sound that Salicia never experienced before, it was like she was near a calm river. Lights were buried beneath the water making a soft glow emerge and spots of light danced around like fireflies. Salicia briefly wondered if she was still in an office building or a five star hotel. 

“Good afternoon Miss Jinny,” Salicia snapped out of her daze to be met with the metal doors of an elevator marked with the letter MX. The was a man -middle aged, dressed in a suit similar to that of a butler from the old days- bowing as he greeted Jinny. “What are you here for today?” he asked, clicking the up button for the elevator. 

“Just business Tom. I also brought a guest, she’ll be working for me,” Tom’s eyes briefly met Salicia’s. The elevator dinged, doors opening. Jinny walked in first, a nervous Salicia following second and lastly Tom. “Floor forty Tom.” 

Floor fucking forty! Salicia had never been higher than her flat which was on a measly forth floor. Forty floors was a completely different story, especially in the heart of the city. Salicia was already fantasising the view that would open itself to her. The elevator ride was suspiciously smooth, it didn’t even feel like she was even moving. When the elevator doors opened they revealed another set of neural white doors. Jinny stepped out and placed her finger on the reader next to the door. Suddenly a pin pad revealed itself from the previously bland looking wall. She typed in a sequence of numbers with scary precision that only came with experience and like magic the white doors opened up for them. 

It revealed a whole different world. 

The minute she and Jinny stepped out a plush black carpet comforted her feet. It felt like walking on fluffy snow. Undoubtedly it was expensive, each black thread seemed to absorb the light into their oblivion; strangely they reminded Salicia of Jinny’s pitch black eyes. A large chandelier adorned the ceiling like a star, the metal frame was a sparkling silver with clear gems hanging off it like leaves on a tree, the light emanating from it was delicate and slightly warm toned. Lounges occupied the left side of the entrance circular room for a casual chilling area. With a large flat screen TV placed into the wall. There was a small island kitchen made of black marble with white swirled artistically in its abyss. Salicia was completely taken away by the room. What struck her most wasn’t the luxurious materials or decorations it was the fact that it was clean. So fuckng clean it was immaculate. Everything seemed to be placed perfectly, nothing seemed out of place. Salicia didn’t even see a speck of dirt on the carpet or even dust on the tables.

A large dark oak table was the treasure in the middle of the room. It was undoubtedly a meeting table with three chairs on each longer side and one chair at the head of the table. Salicia wondered if that was Jinny’s. Seeing the chair made Salicia frightfully aware of the hard line that was drawn between her and Jinny. She felt like scum next to the woman. It wasn’t Jinny’s fault that Salicia felt so small next to her but rather Salicia’s own origins were the true criminal. 

“Would you like anything to drink?” Jinny asked, out of courtesy Salicia suspected, as she walked towards the fridge (that was triple the size of her’s).

“No, I’m good.” 

Jinny pulled out a glass bottle of water which was much better than the tap water Salicia lived off. Regardless of Salicia’s decline Jinny still pulled out two glasses which she poured water into. She motioned for Salicia to take a glass and walked across to the set of double wooden doors in the middle of the north wall. Salicia took the glass between both her hands, cupping it in fear of dropping the expensive glassware all over the speckless carpet. Jinny held her glass casually, fingers lightly gripping the crystal textured glass. Another pin pad later and Salicia found herself walking into the skyline.

Windows lined the whole back wall curving into the sides. They revealed the vast skyline of buildings that stood like soldiers against each other. Clear and spotless, the windows were the sky, a boundless ocean of clouds and bottomless blue. People were most likely nothing but specks and the view was so high maybe she could even reach heaven. She felt like she was floating in the air. Salicia almost let go of her glass in awe. 

“Sit,” Jinny instructed. She was seated on a large rectangular desk. Salicia was too shocked to see her be seated. 

She did as she was told, placing down her glass delicately on the desk. The soft cushioned chair was soft and comfortable however being seated in front of Jinny made Salicia felt uncontrollably nervous like there was something slithering around her. She wasn’t sure what it was: maybe the lavish interior, the clear windows or Jinny herself that made her feel like there were bugs beneath her skin. 

Jinny started typing on her computer whilst Salicia awkwardly sat back straight on the chair in anticipation.

“I‘ll need you to fill out this form,” Salicia flinched in surprise as Jinny stopped typing and pulled out a piece of paper in front of her. “You haven’t bought any ID so I’ll need you to fill out some basic information.” Jinny placed a pen onto the sheet of paper.

Salicia replied a strained “sure,” before she began filling in the form. The information was basic like her name, address, ethnicity. On the backside there were questions like her hobbies, skills and previous work and education. She could still hear Jinny typing but the sensation of her being watched stung like a thorn. Her hands were clammy by the time she finished the form which Jinny took. Salicia was still unsure of what job she was even applying for. The fact that she’d filled out a form was enough to know that she was signing up for something but what? As Jinny looked over the form eyes not showing any particular interest. Salicia couldn’t hold her tongue. “What job am I here for exactly?” 

Jinny’s eyes turned up to look at her at the question. Salicia felt a cold chill as the woman’s abyss like eyes seemed to devour her for a second before a small smile softened it. “I didn’t explain. That’s a failure on my part, it completely slipped my mind. You see, my company does have a program but I think you won’t be too suitable for the work sadly. Judging from what you’ve given me you don’t even have a qualification which would make it difficult to give you a job within her program.” Salicia’s heart sank at the words. Is she going to reject me? “However, I pulled some strings.” Salicia's hands shook slightly as she listened. “I’m happy to offer you a job if you’ll be willing to take it. It’s not a conventional job but I can guarantee I’ll pay you well.” Suddenly Jinny gently touched Salicia’s shaky hand as if to calm her. “Would you like to be my assistant?”

“Your what?” Salicia gasped, unable to comprehend what she’d just heard. 

“My assistant, well-“

“Are you sure I’m qualified? I would be completely fine with being just an office worker.” Salicia cut her off. She couldn’t believe this. Her, an assistant? Of a high up business woman like Jinny? No way in hell. I’m dreaming. 

“I already have two other assistants so one more wouldn’t be unusual. You won’t have to do much. I do a lot of the office work or one of my other assistants. You’ll just deliver messages and other things for me.”

“So like a runner?” Salicia saw clear parallels with her drug running which was a little concerning. She didn’t exactly favour her drug running so she wasn’t particularly happy with the parallels.

“For a lack of a better word and if you’d like to think of it like that, yes,” Jinny places down the form Salicia filled in and placed her chin on her palm. Salicia’s heart sank a bit. No, she did not want to think about it like that. She bit her lip before speaking. “Knowing your position you don’t have to take it. But, other than this I have nothing else to offer you. I’m sorry if you feel like I’ve deceived you.” 

“You don’t mind me being a drug runner?” Salicia was skeptical that Jinny would let such a thing slide.

Jinny sighed. “I know you probably don’t trust me. But I really do just want to help. I don’t really get a chance to help people like you. See-“ Jinny motioned at the room around her, “-I feel so far separated from the world here. Seeing you that day made me feel like I had a chance to help someone below and bridge the gap.” The edge of Jinny’s lips seemed to frown.

Salicia felt her heart beat in sympathy for the woman. The amount of times her heart had fluctuated today was absolute calamity. But, for some reason she wanted to help her too. Pushing away her fear Salicia said, “I’ll take it.”

Jinny’s full lipped smile revealed itself to her like a sun from the horizon, however her eyes still remained as still as ever. Salicia made a mental note to try and add a little emotion to them in the future (if she ever got the chance). “Thank you. I look forward to working with you,” she sincerely said, taking a sip of water.

After they worked out the logistics of Salicia’s job. It turned out that her hunch was correct and Jinny was the fucking CEO. Salicia had to take a minute and a sip of water to completely process that. As Salicia still had a job as a drug runner (that would be easily hidden by Jinny) she would work periodically. Jinny calling her in advance with jobs that she would do. As for what she’d do it was similar to her current job except she’d be delivering things that were completely legal but completely confidential. Which Jinny insisted that she never looked at anything she gave her to deliver. Salicia was unsure why the woman had so much to deliver but she was also completely oblivious to such jobs as being a CEO so she disregarded her insecurities. She was to be paid weekly in cash with the embarrassing fact that Salicia did not have a bank account. In the end Jinny pulled out a contract for her to sign. “I’ll need you to sign this so you’re authorised to work here.”

Without question Salicia picked up the pen and signed her intricate signature on the dotted line. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am.” Suddenly tears welled up in her eyes. Everything seemed so unreal. “Just-“ Jinny handed a tissue which she took with a small bow and dabbed away her tears. The paper was super soft as she wiped it against her skin.

“Don’t worry about it. I wanted to help you too. I hope you can get out of that drug running of yours though. If you ever need anything just call me.” Jinny comforted.

“Sure. Just thank you,” Salicia said, unable to say anything else as she was trying too hard to stop her bank of tears from opening.

Jinny glanced at her watch. “I’m really sorry but I have a meeting to get to.”

“I should go now then.” Salicia stood up, eyes slightly stinging from the tears but a huge smile on her face.

“Tom will show you out. I’ll call you soon for your first job too.” Jinny stayed seated as Salicia walked towards the door.

“Sure. I’ll look forward to it,” she grinned and saw Jinny flash a smile before she exited.

~

“I think Lind is a perfect candidate for the role Sir,” Jinny explained into the phone. She’d been stuck in her office for the last six hours sorting out all the work that she put off doing for the last few days especially with her late night fucking around (literally). The deadlines were approaching -more accurately the Boss was slowly getting less tolerant of her disobedience- like sharks in a fish tank and Jinny really did not want to find herself in the Boss’ office, again.

“Tell him immediately, make sure to inform him to make it clear to the Reds who’s in charge now,” Jinny fidgeted with her neck scarf lying on the desk as the Boss spoke; she had taken it off from annoyance and nobody unexpected would even get a step onto her floor. 

“Of course,” she answered before hanging up. 

She was fucking bored, her legs were stiff and her eyes were sore from her glaring computer screen. She rubbed her hands harshly over her eyes to get rid of the ache. She was usually far more diligent when working but the meeting with Salicia was still lingering in her mind. The girl was the equivalent of an abandoned cat looking for some food, pouncing on the first person giving it sustenance. Things were far too easy and just thinking about it made Jinny burst out laughing in her office. Her laughs echoed in her office like roars in a savannah.

When she finally regained her composure. She stretched her arms and shut down her computer as she finished all her work for the day, almost. She stood and turned to spectate the world outside her windows. The sun was setting but the sight wasn’t exactly spectacular in typical London fashion. The sky was simply an off foggy orange not the vibrant citrus orange one would expect. The clouds were much too thick to let any of the colour penetrate through properly and the sun couldn’t even be seen through the smoke screen clouds. Lackluster and perfectly suited for such a dreary area. Hazily staring, the sharp sound of nails grazing skin could be heard. Jinny fingers were itching to do something else other than clicking a mouse and typing. 

Her office phone started ringing on the desk. Jinny immediately turned from viewing the dull sunset and picked up. 

“Your car has arrived Miss Jinny,” Tom informed, his voice the same old english accent that she’d heard since she was young.

“I’ll come down now.” She said and placed the phone back on its holder. Just one more job for today. As she walked out her office, methodically making sure everything was back in its place. She’d washed the glass Salicia had used right after she left. The meeting was a hoax to just get the girl to leave, in reality Jinny just had a mountain of work to do and needed a better excuse than telling her to fuck off because she was busy. Satisfied with everything Jinny made her way down, Tom was absent in the elevator this time as he was most likely waiting for her with the car. 

As she was in the elevator -going down to the car park on the basement floor- her phone rang with a notification from the Boss.

It read: Have you called Lind yet?

Shit. It completely slipped her mind. It wasn’t incompetence that made her forget it was how numb her mind was from the hangover and six hours of straight desk work. She swore at one point she saw numbers in the clouds. As she was typing a response another text intercepted her. Do it by tonight. 

“Bastard,” Jinny muttered under her breath. She didn’t even get a chance to respond, granted she would’ve just lied and said yes. How in hell does he know everything?

~

The smell hit her first when she got out of the car. She covered her nose with her hand to try and block out the stench but gave up. It smelt of sewage and trash, the mix of stenches reminded her of a decomposing body. Which even though blood had never in the slightest perturbed her; the absolute filth of the area was what really made her skin crawl. It wasn’t surprising that an abandoned trash site was squalid. But the fact that he even made his dealing ground such a place made Jinny even more disgusted. Granted, most people disgusted her. 

She kicked open the flimsy wire gate with her boot that she had changed into. She hadn’t bothered with her clothes but she was much more comfortable wearing her favourite brand of black combat boots. Besides she had so many clothes soiling an outfit wouldn’t be much of a loss. The ground was uneven, trash merging into the soil like beads in clay. Discarded clothes, furniture, food and packaging were found in heaps around the junkyard, small hills of discarded waste hid the small warehouse at the edge of the area. It wasn’t night quite yet but it was close; the sun tittering on the edge of the horizon casting a moody light across the area. Jinny couldn’t keep the scowl off her face as she strided purposefully towards the warehouse. The crunch of plastic and paper beneath her feet was loud and sounded like the cracking of bone. 

Jinny didn’t care if she was too loud. Gabriel, the scum, was about to get what was coming for him. And Jinny, who was particularly ticked off today, was going to thoroughly enjoy herself. 

The warehouse was barely holding itself together. From the outside it looked like a few sheets of rusty metal sheets halfheartedly stuck together to form a building that faintly resembled a warehouse. Immediately going to the door, Jinny bashed it open with a swift kick from her boot. Easily the door fell off its hinges landing with a glorious crash on the ground. It was obvious that anyone on the premise would have heard. 

The inside was a dingy space with minimal lights and a smell of metal and oil. It was clear the space was used to deal arms, she was sure more than thousands of guns were housed one day or another. However, the warehouse was pathetically empty. If Gabriel was on schedule the new shipment should be filling the space. As Jinny walked in her boot crunched on something which gave off an obvious crack. Lifting her foot to inspect, she saw the crushed remnants of a syringe.

“This is home invasion.” Jinny pulled out her gun pointing it at the voice. It was Gabriel, crouched near the door Jinny had broken earlier, stroking it as if it were a cat. “Couldn’t find a nicer way to open the door, darling?” He sounded unnervingly happy but that was probably the heroine talking. He was ruggedly dressed with a shitty camouflage jacket on top of a black top and a pair of dark green cargo pants. They were creased, stained and severely old and unwashed.

“I suggest you invest in a new door instead of your heroine supply,” Jinny retorted with venom. 

He stood, sighed and smiled at her. “So I guess your master sent you here,” he said as he stood rather shakily looking straight at her gun. Even with the low lights Jinny saw his constricted pupils small like a snake’s, his sunken frame, his flushed cheeks. High out of his mind Jinny concluded. No wonder their funds were significantly lower this month. It was a good thing the Boss already replaced him, relocating all the cargo to wherever the new storage house was; Jinny didn’t care enough to find out where.

Now Gabriel was just another dying dog that needed to be put down by the courtesy of Jinny, and no way in hell was she going to make it be painless, though the heroin coursing through his veins may help. 

“How are you gonna do it darling? What did the Heir want you to do, hm?” He laughed at the way Jinny sneered at him. He didn’t seen to be armed, the opioids probably clouding his judgement and making him fucking stupid. He spread out his arms which made him look like a scarecrow. “Tell me, darling! What’s it like being the Heir’s stupid attack dog?” Jinny shot him in the leg. Gabriel keeled over like an axed tree but that stupid smile still stuck on his face. Jinny was getting slowly more angry that he was seemingly enjoying it, there must have been enough heroine in his system to numb the pain. She gripped the gun harder but resisted the urge to shoot him again, the hatred was starting to simmer harder in her veins. For fucks sake why was she always just seen as a puppet to the Heir. As if they were even involved in the situation. 

“It’s none of your business bitch. I think you should be more concerned with the fact that you’re about to find yourself in a rather messy situation.” Jinny pulled him by the ankle of the leg she shot, he seemed to wince and proceeded to laugh. The sound grating against Jinny’s ears. She easily tugged his limp body to the centre to the warehouse and dug her boot into his stomach. He wheezed under the pressure as she put all her weight on him. The soft smell of blood that was slowly ebbing from the gun wound was starting to reach Jinny’s senses. She breathed it in deeply and slowly exhaled.

“What’s it like being the Heir’s attack dog?” He forced out, voice constricted. Jinny dug her heel harder into his stomach. Eyes completely dead and gaze steady she had enough of showing any reaction, she was more focused on the blood flowing slowly from the hold in his leg. She wanted more. “I bet he lets you suck his dick as a reward, doesn’t he? He might even fuck you if you do well enough.” Jinny pulled one of her usual daggers -her absolute favourite was only used for special occasions, certainly not to be wasted on such scum- from her boot. It was a simple knife, with a black coarse leather grip and a typical length black sharpened and a clear silver. Even in the darkness it glinted. 

She saw Gabriel’s eyes widen at the sight of a blade. He may be an expert in guns but Jinny always preferred the tangible quality of a blade. “Scream if you want, no one will hear you.”

“No wonder the Heir likes to play with you.” Jinny's eyes darkened as she crouched down closer to his arm. He was too high to control his limbs which was a particular disadvantage as she pinned down his arm. She precisely made an envision into his arm, a long line from the middle of his palm to the middle of his chest. The blade tore through his clothes easily which Jinny discarded. Blood started to bleed from the long cut as Gabriel was left shirtless. His arms were littered with needle holes, many still fresh, prominent red dots. It made his skin look diseased. She continued to make another cut along his other arm and one down his chest to his stomach. The cuts were shallow and Gabriel looked over at her with a lazy smile. “This ain’t really much darling. Can’t even feel it,” his laugh was cut off by Jinny’s hand seizing his neck, choking him. He gasped for air which wasn’t let through by Jinny’s hand crushing his windpipe.

He became even more red faced. “You know an angel in the bible was called Gabriel. You don’t seem very angelic now do you?” She released his throat and he laid there, chest heaving that had beads of blood slowly dripping do it like raindrops. “I wonder what you look like on the inside? Maybe your blood will be blessed, or maybe the heroin you’ve indulged in would've decayed your insides,” she smiled as said calmly like a doctor viewing a patient. She looked him dead in the eye as she cut another line on the circumference of his neck. 

“I don’t believe in angels or such silly things lovely,” Gabriel rasped out. “I heard a rumour about the Heir’s doll having a kink for execution. Will I be one of your heads? You'll show it off to him, show him what a good girl you are?” He tilted his head to look her dead in the eye, he licked his lips and Jinny gripped her dagger tighter. 

Jinny ignored his comment. Digging her knife beneath his skin starting from the cut on his palm. She heard Gabriel’s breath hitch, inwardly she was grinning. Feel it, feel the edge of my blade beneath your skin. With a well sharpened knife skin was easily pliant, it was like cutting butter except with a lot more blood and less promises of a cake. As she skinned his arm, feeling his muscles tense but he was much too weak to move a limb, she eyed the veins and tissues revealing itself from within. The skin was being separated in a lovely layer like a sheet of paper, the blood was everywhere staining her hands and starting to pool beneath her boots. She inhaled. She cut more and more and more. The sick yellow skin peeled back and laying on the ground, she didn’t bother with the underside from sheer inconvenience so the skin was still slightly attached. Red tissues, bloods, capillaries. His arm shook slightly as she dismantled him. Unlike what diagrams seem to show the inside of the human body, the reality was much uglier, it was a mess of blood and red mush that pulsed to show it was alive. But, Jinny never got tired of the sight, the smell, she could almost taste the blood on her tongue. She felt slightly dizzy looking at it.

She made it up to his chest where she dug her blade in particularly hard, shoving almost all the length beneath the skin. The indent of the blade bulged out like a rib. That was when he started screaming. Screaming like his life depended on it, which it did but screaming would do nothing but amplify Jinny’s amusement. Which it did, as the sound kept escaping his lips like the cawing from a crow a smile bloomed on Jinny’s face. She looked at his face, the smile not leaving. Gabriel was wide-mouthed, his tongue and teeth on full display as he continued to belt out screams like a tone death opera singer. The effect of the heroine was starting to lessen making the pain of being skinned alive very very evident to Gabriel. He stopped screaming from exhaustion, his whole frame shaking, exposed muscles twitching in their pool of blood, sweat pooled on his neck and face. Jinny kept her hand on her dagger that was beneath his skin as she bent down to his ear. 

“Do you feel it?” She whispered, she wiggled her blade, cutting the flesh slightly. It elicited a hoarse scream from Gabriel as his chest spasmed. Swiftly she cleanly cut the skin from the chest, this time she cut it completely off from just below his neck. Gabriel wanted to scream but the only thing that came out his mouth was a whispery gurgle. He looked like one of the body models in the science museum Jinny visited when she was younger. Except the head was still mostly intact and there was copious amounts of blood spurting out and pooling. Jinny much preferred this model instead of the one in the museum. Just seeing the blood actually flowing (inside and out), seeing them breathing gave a thrill that Jinny thirsted for. Nothing else came close to the feeling of the blood on her hands, the sight of the inside of the human body and all its organs, tissues and meat. 

When she was done, she’d skinned his entire upper body. She avoided as many fatal arteries and veins as possible for her favourite part. To Gabriel’s credit he was still alive - barely. His torso was completely exposed, fat and tissues were congealed together like jelly, ebbing red. The skin discarded on the floor, the flabby organ looked strange when removed. 

As Jinny inhaled deeply, savoured the metallic odour, she prodded at her work, the muscles jerked in response to her abuse. Her hands were completely red, her suit stained and her boots painted with the blood splatters. She felt slightly light headed like she was getting high off the smell of the blood. She felt high and powerful that she slammed a foot into his stomach and laughed louder than she had in ages. She didn’t even hear him cough out blood. Just something about ripping people to shreds, seeing them bleed made Jinny feel more than she usually did. She no longer felt that stupid ghostlike feeling, instead she felt very much alive.

She sat right on his chest, knees pinning down his skinned arms -another scream- and leaned down. He looked at her with hopeless pain filled eyes that she was so familiar with. She brushed away a tear that slipped down his cheek, inking his face with more red, cooing in mockery. “Are you scared?” she stroked his cheek. “You’re just as ugly on the inside,” something close to a whimper sounded from his lips. “Don’t worry it’s almost over.” 

She grabbed and fistful of hair, making Gabriel clamp his eyes shut. Bringing down the blade to his exposed neck she stabbed deeply. The flesh wasn’t completely soft like some would expect. As she hacked through muscle and bone and tissue the blood spurted out like a sprinkled, she felt the droplets hit her face. Her hand kept forcing its way through. Gabriel was long dead, severing his neck in half. The sound was wet and squelchy as the dagger ripped through. Jinny was breathing quickly, chest heaving as she finally executed him, dismembering his head cleanly - well as clean as possible.  
She stood, suit drenched thoroughly like she’d taken a shower in blood. The fabric stuck to her body and as she licked her lips; she tasted blood. The pool of blood was much bigger than she thought travelling at least two meters from the body. 

She kicked the head and it rolled away into the darkness leaving the headless body skinned on the ground. 

She stood motionless in the puddle of blood just staring at the body, skin splayed on the ground, flesh exposed. Running a blood covered hand through her hair, she inhaled deeply forcing cold night air into her lungs. She felt hot and fuzzy a similar buzz to when she drank. It always felt like this like she was high, and drunk and something else she couldn’t name, when she killed people. It was something in her mind that craved it, for the blood or the feeling, she didn't know but she knew she always want more and more until it bored her. (Hopefully that wasn’t anytime soon).

She looked at herself in the puddle of blood. Her reflection was barely there due to the lack of light but it was still a faded bloody shadow. She saw her messy clothes, wet hair, and dagger she held in her hand. She was sure her pupils were dilated too from her slightly blurred vision. Even though she felt warm inside and fucking euphoric. Even though she’d smiled and laughed maniacally as she skinned the man alive. 

Somehow, there wasn’t even a smile on her face.


End file.
